Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank all the witnesses very much. It is a great day to be starting on this important topic, to be getting stuck in and to be making sure we have a good report at the end of our three months of deliberation. I am reading into this topic and I am learning every day about it.

I will start with the contribution of Ms O'Keeffe, who mentioned the Verona principles and the expert group of the Hague Conference. As the witnesses from the Department of Health rightly said, we can only legislate on a national level and we can only put in safeguards at a national level and ensure they are properly implemented. We should be looking at the issue in a European context. The European Commission has proposed to draw up a legislative initiative later this year. Has the Department of Justice had an input into the European Commission? What soundings has the Department taken on the workings at a European level? We all want to make sure every single actor, for the want of a better word, within these incredible relationships is protected. When we think about what is happening here, someone is giving the opportunity of parenting their child. It is a miracle in so many ways and we want to make sure we look after every single person along the way and that they are fulfilled, including the respective parents, the surrogate mother and the child that is lovingly created at the end of it. What do the witnesses hear from a European angle in that regard? It is a positive way to make sure we have regulation and safeguards at an international level. I will leave it at that because there is a lot in those questions and I can come in again at the end if there is time.