Professor Conor O'Mahony:

My concern here is to deal with the reality of the situation in which we find ourselves. International commercial surrogacy exists, and because it exists and we cannot wish it out of existence, it is not within the gift of the Oireachtas to completely prohibit recognition of international commercial surrogacy. That is clear from the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Therefore, if we are to take our human rights obligations seriously, strong regulation in the best interests of the child is the appropriate response to concerns about international commercial surrogacy. Prohibition is neither realistic nor within our gift.