Ms Annette Hickey:

I thank the Deputy. My suggestion is that, in the future, families starting their international surrogacy journey who comply with the pre-approval requirement of the regulatory authority should automatically become guardians. That is something I had not considered with respect to the children who are here at the moment. If there is a way to amend the Guardianship of Infants Act to provide for automatic guardianship, it could be considered. Ultimately, however, it is not the answer for the children in question. I am working on cases in which the second parent has received guardianship, but that would not deal with the death of the biological father. Ultimately, from a child's point of view, it is about having a relationship with both parents. It is over to the members to introduce or expedite some type of parental-order arrangement now.

There has to be a way. During Covid-19, the Government was able to bring forward emergency legislation quickly. Those children are here now. Surely there are some means by which to bring forward some kind of interim parental order situation or declaration of parentage. The affidavit that will have been filed when the first parent or biological parent has been granted their declaration of parentage, those documents that are sworn and signed by the surrogate mother, all of which have been apostilled in the country of birth, and the affidavits from the independent lawyer all confirm the consent for the second parent to have parentage. Those documents are there. The Chief State Solicitor's office will be provided with all of the various proofs. The judge at the first court hearing will have accepted all of those affidavits. The standards are in the checklists. The missing piece is some form of a special or miscellaneous provision. It is up to the legislator to come up with interim legislation to cover this period of time now until the assisted human reproduction, AHR, Bill, which it is hoped will include international surrogacy going forward, is commenced. I cannot overstress, and members have also pointed out, the anxiety, the genuine worry and the fear that is out there for those children. None of us can overstress that. It is in every county and in every town throughout the country.