Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was not here when the witnesses gave their opening contributions but I have read Dr. Tobin's and Professor Madden's statements. Dr. Tobin states the 2022 Bill provides for altruistic domestic surrogacy but any amendment to this draft legislation would have to be willing to embrace commercial surrogacy arrangements and that is the first inconsistency the State will have to be willing to accept in principle.

I have a couple of questions. Does Dr. Tobin have any objection, in principle, to commercial surrogacy and if not, why not? Does he believe Irish law should formally recognise commercial surrogacy here and abroad? Why do most countries ban commercial surrogacy? Does he share the concerns of the UN special rapporteur on sale and sexual exploitation of children that commercial surrogacy can easily amount to the sale of children and therefore, the practice cannot be in their best interest, by definition?

Towards the end of his submission, Dr. Tobin indicates that in the case of male same-sex parents, the birth certificate proposed would not record the child's mother, and thus the child would have no legal mother at birth. Every child has a mother, however, so is Dr. Tobin proposing the birth certificates do not properly reflect the reality of the child's parentage?