Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We cannot emphasise enough that children are independent rights holders all by themselves. These rights are not granted by their parents, or obtained by their parents and dispensed to them, but in fact something they hold in their own persons from before they are born all the way through. That is important and, consequently, it is particularly important their identity is preserved. I read the ombudsman's more extensive submission, which relied heavily on the UN convention and the role of principles. The witnesses were about to elaborate on the EU and I would like to afford them the opportunity to do that. If we have a mechanism, and the committee has heard about the Canadian model in which prior to any commencement of a fertility journey there is an obligation for counselling and setting out agreements of contact expectations, everybody should go into it very clearly with their eyes wide open as to what expectations are made of them. That moves through to the surrogate holding her own bodily integrity throughout, which everybody wants to ensure. We have also heard from a UK lawyer who appeared before the committee, Ms Natalie Gamble, who talked about the safeguards that could be put in to ensure there is no exploitation of the surrogate and the key payment marker points to look for. I see those matters reflected in the Verona principles mentioned in the ombudsman's submission.

I would like to afford the representatives the opportunity to reply to that, but before we do so I will state two things. First, children in Ireland are left in a place of statelessness, not because parents are focusing on their own desires and putting themselves first, but because there are appalling delays in the courts system in Ireland.

As part of the process of getting an emergency travel document, any parent bringing a child home to Ireland has to give an undertaking to issue court proceedings immediately upon his or her return, and that is verifiable. There are delays such that some children in this State will have already started school and still not have been through the courts for the parental recognition of the father, even though court proceedings will have issued.

Second, any apology that may be due in the future will be due to the children who are being let down and failed by the State in the here and now for the fact they have no right of legal relationship with their parents and with their mother in particular. An apology will be due to those children if we do not act and legislate.