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

I move amendment No. 78:

In page 37, after line 40, to insert the following: “Payments in Respect of Relevant Donations

34. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the consent of a relevant donor under this Part shall not be valid where it is given in exchange for financial compensation in excess of reasonable expenses associated with the provision of the relevant donation concerned or the giving of consent under this Part.

(2) The consent of a relevant donor under this Act shall not be deemed to be invalid by virtue of the payment of a fee in addition to such reasonable expenses as defined in subsection (5), where the donation is made directly to a cryobank, as declared by order of the Minister pursuant to subsection (4) or (5) of this section to be a designated cryobank for the purposes of this Part.

(3) The Minister may, by order, declare that a cryobank is a designated cryobank for the purposes of this Part.

(4) The Minister may, by order, amend or revoke an order under this section (including an order made under this subsection).

(5) In this section—

“cryobank” means a bank, located within or outside of the State, which procures, cryopreserves, and makes available a database of, gamete donations for selection by intending parents;

“reasonable expenses” means, in relation to a donor, the donor’s—

(a) travel costs,

(b) medical expenses,

(c) any legal or counselling costs, and

(d) any loss of income while undergoing the relevant donation,

incurred by him or her in relation to the provision of the gamete or, as the case may be, the giving of consent under this Act;

“relevant donation” means—

(a) a relevant donation (G),

(b) a relevant donation (E), or

(c) a relevant donation (ER);

“relevant donor”, in relation to a relevant donation, means whomsoever of the following who made the donation:

(a) the relevant donor (G);

(b) the relevant donor (E);

(c) the relevant donor (ER).”.

This relates to the whole area of payment. It is a tricky area to legislate for. The point has been made that, given that Ireland does not have its own sperm bank and we are so reliant on other countries, such as Spain, Denmark and the Czech Republic, all of which pay fees to their donors, it is felt that this amendment is necessary; otherwise, we will rule out those countries. I appreciate the sensitivity of this and that we do not want to get into trafficking or that, but I think there are genuine issues here. I agree that gamete and embryo donation should be altruistic. The current section ignores the reality of existing AHR practices. If any kind of payment is ruled out unilaterally, we will greatly reduce the list of acceptable countries. This amendment would allow the Minister to designate which cryobanks are approved and ensure that all payments are made directly to the cryobanks and not to the donors. I feel this recognises the reality of the situation at present, while also having safeguards.

Rather than it being set down in legislation and being so restrictive, and maybe not taking into consideration existing practice but also expenses that are involved and how different cryobanks operate, it would be better to do that under regulation rather than primary legislation. I hope the Minister might consider that.