Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The court has made a decision. We have made it clear that an appeal to the High Court will not be opposed. We will not seek costs and full co-operation will be offered. In any event, the issuance of a passport will not address the question of legal guardianship, which is necessary for granting consent to medical treatment.

The Deputy is correct that wider issues arise in regard to surrogacy and the issuing of passports. New legislation is required in the area of surrogacy and it is the Government's intention to bring forward legislation. That will take time, however, and in the interim, my Department, the Attorney General's office, the Departments of Justice and Equality and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs are at an advanced stage in preparing guidelines on how cases of surrogacy should be dealt with.

I do not have time to discuss all the issues that arise in this complex legal area. I could spend a considerable amount of time outlining existing legislation on guardianship and what happens in surrogacy cases. Irish law makes various presumptions about parentage and guardianship.

In the individual case to which Deputy Martin referred, a solution has been identified and we will co-operate in solving the problem. We cannot ignore the decision of the Circuit Court but we are addressing the wider issue by preparing guidelines to streamline the issuing of passports and other decisions on guardianship of children.

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