Mr. Gearóid Kenny Moore:

With regard to additional information on Canada, in the next couple of weeks solicitors from the Canadian system will be coming before the committee. They would be able to provide far more information. My experience of the Canadian system is as somebody who tried to have a child through the Canadian system and failed for unknown reasons. Those solicitors will be better placed to give the Deputy more insight than I could.

With regard to the long form of the birth certificate, the Deputy asks a good question. What happens in the United States and Canada is that the couple, as the intended parents and regardless of their gender, have the option to be listed on the birth certificate when the child is born. The surrogate does not need to appear on the birth certificate. As I have mentioned, in the UK, the surrogate must appear on the birth certificate. She is the legal mother at the point of birth and, therefore, must be listed on the birth certificate. We encourage our members to discuss every aspect of a surrogacy journey with their surrogate prior to commencement. If it is required by local law that an agreement be made, that agreement should be made. If that is not required, as is the case in the UK, we still encourage our members to make some form of agreement and to discuss with the surrogate what will happen when it comes to the issuing of a birth certificate. Regardless of what is available in Canada and the United States, when they go there, most couples will ask the surrogate to be named on the birth certificate simply because, when they come back to Ireland, a birth certificate that lists two men as the parents will not work for Irish institutions such as the Passport Office.