Ms Fiona Duffy:

My clients often show them to me but I cannot advise them on them because they are governed by the law of the country where they are based. I have seen them over the years but it is not part of my function to judge those agreements because they are not governed by Irish law. When I started dealing with this I might not have looked at them to the same extent that I currently do. One of the things I noticed about the agreements is that when the baby was born, the agreement came to an end. I have always said it is important that the surrogate would understand that her involvement does not purely end when the baby is born but that her involvement is also required for the legal process back in Ireland. Before she even enters into the agreement that should all have been taken care of, she should realise she will be a party to the legal proceedings in Ireland with rights and she should know that her co-operation or objection will be a part of same.