Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their submissions and for all the information they have given. I hope we can take on some of their recommendations as they are experts in this field. It is easy for those of us who have children not to take into account people who get married in a same-sex relationship, or otherwise cannot have children. There is a certain amount of ignorance in this area but, as one reads more about it and meets people who have used surrogacy services abroad, one learns more about the issues. I recently met a gentleman who is married to another man who has a couple of children through a surrogate and I was struck by how lucky the children were to be brought up in the environment they were in. I consider myself a rampant liberal but my inherent bias sometimes kicks in. However, when I listen to experts such as those before us today, I become more personally comfortable with the issue.

It is a new area.

On Professor Hayes's point, it is so important that we have longitudinal data based on the views of experts, be they on the top or the bottom. It does not matter where they are. Their position is irrelevant to me but I firmly believe in using proper scientific evidence, not anecdotal evidence, when making decisions.

When late to the table, as with most things in Ireland, we have the benefit of knowing what occurs in other jurisdictions. I am a community pharmacist by profession. I have dealt with many families in the past 15 years. The trend has really kicked off in Ireland. I have noted the desperation, the travel to Greece and the complexities associated with getting and translating prescriptions from other countries and getting relevant drugs. There is considerable work done by the medical profession and pharmacists to assist people on their journey. I agree with Professor Madden that if the activity is not regulated, it will go underground and cause problems in the future.

Senator Warfield said that when one parent in a same-sex marriage is the only one with a legal connection to the offspring, it is of great concern to the parent who is not genetically related to the child if something happens to the legally connected individual. Could the witnesses elaborate on some of their experiences in that regard?

I do not believe I would ever be able to have a child for somebody who just could not do so. It is the greatest gift. With regard to the 1% who do not want to give the baby to the genetic parents, does that happen in the regulated sphere of the unregulated sphere? Could that be clarified? If it is in the unregulated sphere, it should be possible to make improvements.

It is very interesting to learn that the evidence indicates no psychopathology. That is really important. This is the kind of point about which normal people are concerned. I refer to the knock-on effects for children in the future. Could some of these points be addressed? As a member of the Government party, I will take all the experts' information on board and feed it back to the Minister so we can hopefully introduce a Bill that is fit for purpose and leaves people with legal certainty.

This is a very personal and private matter for couples. I thank those who have come here to tell their stories because they are of great value to the likes of me, who is fairly ignorant about this whole area.