Professor Conor O'Mahony:

From the constitutional perspective, the quick answer is "No". This issue was before the Supreme Court eight years ago in the case of M.R v. An tÁrd Chláraitheoir. The wording used by the Supreme Court in considering its regulation of assisted human reproduction and surrogacy was that it is quintessentially a matter for the Oireachtas to decide how best to regulate that issue and balance the various interests and rights and play in such procedures. That judgment clearly signals that the courts do not want to step in and draw bright lines about what can or cannot be done. The courts are saying it is a sensitive, difficult policy choice to be made and, because of that, it is more appropriately made by the people's elected representatives in the Oireachtas. The likelihood of laws in this area being struck down as unconstitutional is slim based on that decision, because the courts see it as a role of the Oireachtas to fill in the blanks we currently have.