Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As I have stated, much work has taken place in the Department of Health in recent weeks and months, as evidenced by the fact that the Minister for Health brought a recommendation to Cabinet for the heads of a Bill on assisted human reproduction to be developed. That is a very significant development. He has also announced wider AHR consultation, which is also important, as there is much on which to consult in this area. We have the recommendation made by the commission in 2005 for a regulatory authority, which is certainly needed. In this Bill we are dealing with certain aspects of AHR, but we are not dealing with the wider issues; we are dealing with parentage issues. I see the particular point raised as being very relevant to that wider debate and wider consultation. The Department of Health feels very strongly that there are many ethical issues involved. Its policy is single-egg only and it is not addressing the issue of mitochondrial disease. The UK, which has recently legislated on this matter, is the only country to have done so. Many of the issues that arise are more appropriately dealt with in the wider AHR legislation and consultation.

With regard to anonymous donation, I wish to make a number of points. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child speaks about the importance of the child having access to its own genetic information, and that is the reason we have taken this approach. It clearly is in the interests of the child that it would have access to genetic information. This is best practice internationally and is what other countries have done. They have moved from anonymous donation. Obviously there are still some countries where there is anonymous donation, and there is a history in Ireland of using both anonymous and non-anonymous donation. This Bill makes it clear that we are moving to a situation of best practice in terms of donations and that they will be known. We have gone further and have talked about the type of detail that will have to be kept by the clinics. We are talking about the consent issues and the access of the child, when he or she reaches the age of 18, to that information. All of that is dealt with in the legislation on the basis of the right of the child to access its genetic identity.

With regard to the concerns of some of the clinics, I want to reassure them that there will be a transitional period. Much work remains to be done in terms of working out the detail of this regulation, the consent issues and the various other aspects that are addressed in the Bill. There will be ample opportunity for the clinics to engage, primarily with the Department of Health, on this issue. In fact, the Department of Health will hold a stakeholder meeting in the next few weeks in order to work with the clinics and discuss these issues. I am absolutely clear that the principle outlined in the Bill is the right one in the context of children and going forward with AHR in this country. There are transitional issues that have to be dealt with, and they will be dealt with, but the principle and the policy are right and they are in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the discussions in the committee, as well as the recommendations of the Ombudsman for Children. Sweden moved to this system 20 years ago. The international experience is that there can be a reduction in donations initially, but as the legislation becomes known and as people understand it this issue can be dealt with.