Ms Caoimhe Nic Dhomhnaill:

I have a view on the maternity leave aspect. Its lack really disadvantages children who have been born via surrogacy and have come into the country. To quote D.W. Winnicott, there is no such thing as a baby; there is only a mother and baby. A baby cannot survive. During that early stage, when a child is four months old, six months old, or whatever, the primary caregiver plays a role in the stage of preoccupation. During that stage, a mother is preoccupied with her baby. These children are disadvantaged if the mothers cannot avail of maternity leave.

The Vice Chairman also asked about inheritance rights. As children's knowledge evolves and they become aware, it has the potential to be divisive in families if other siblings have more entitlements. That is a big issue.

Another issue I have been thinking about relates to grandparents. It is a lineage of which the children are deprived. The grandparents do not have any legal rights. If children do not have some legislative connection to their mothers, what is the situation with regard to grandchildren? What relationship do the child's children have with the biological mother or non-biological mother, in some surrogacy cases?

There are considerable connotations with regard to child development. There is the possibility for a split, for divisiveness between siblings. There are also issues relating to the maternal preoccupation stage and the relationship between mother and baby.