Ms Ciara Merrigan:

I thank Senator McGreehan for acknowledging that we are here for our children and, as Ms Wheatley has said, we will do anything to protect children like a mother lion. I would be here a thousand times over to protect my two three-year-olds. I have a little girl and boy born through surrogacy.

There was a question on best practice and there are countries we would ask the special committee on surrogacy to review. The first is looking across the water at the UK, as we always do in Ireland. The UK has recommendations from its Law Commission and although they are not yet in law, they would be interesting for the committee to look at. In the other direction we can look to the United States. New York has a surrogate bill of rights if the committee wants to look at that model. Among European countries, Greece would be a good example of an EU country with a comprehensive legislative process in place.

I echo what Ms Wheatley has said in terms of parentage for people's understanding. People may not understand the full process. Our children were born internationally. Like Ms Wheatley's twins, my twins were born in Ukraine and before coming home from there, our children had to have DNA tests completed. We then applied to the Department of Foreign Affairs for an emergency travel document to get home to Ireland. In Ukraine, when the children are born, their births are registered, as they are here in Ireland. For example, on the register is my name, my husband's name and the name of our surrogate, Lydia. All the names are accounted for in that register.

My twins' birth certificates have my name and my husband's name on them. All our group know about the smack on the face when we land at Dublin Airport with our beautiful babies, as we are no longer considered their mother because the State recognises the surrogate mother as the mother because she delivered the child. We are really asking that we do not lose this opportunity now and we try to get this right for our children. We do not want to have a generation of children who have never had legal recognition with the parents caring for them every day, looking after them and mothering them.

Ms Wheatley mentioned how one of our member's children were five and my children were just under three when we got their parentage through. It is three years without having a legal parent in the State and one lives in fear every day that somebody will come in and take the children. It is not right for our children and it is unfair for them. It is now time for this to be sorted, particularly for the children now in the State. There are children arriving every day from different countries who are born internationally. We have children up to the age of 18 who, unfortunately, have never had the legal relationship with their mother. The time is now and we just do not want to lose this opportunity.