Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I would like to make a couple of points. I think there is an issue with the gendered nature of the language in the Bill and I am not sure to what extent the Minister or his officials have thought this through. It refers to a gamete formed in the body of a male and a gamete formed in the body of a female and so on. I wonder why we cannot use more straightforward language, such as "egg" and "sperm". Moreover, a few groups have inquired as to whether the Department has carried out any research into whether it is more appropriate to refer to a "surrogate mother" or just to a "surrogate". That is of concern to some groups. What thought has gone into that area of non-gendered language?