Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Bill, which is a crucial element of child-centred reform that will amend laws regarding children's rights and child protection. It is about modernising family law and addressing the particular needs of children in the areas of parentage, guardianship, adoption and custody access. I commend the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, on her publication of the Bill and I commend the former Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, on his work on it. I welcome the cross-party support for the Bill, which is a testament to its content and what it sets out to do. The Bill has been in the pipeline for many years and I am proud that the Government has stepped up and delivered on its commitment to children. It will afford all children, including those living in difficult and challenging situations, the support and security they need and deserve.

Children in this country are cared for and protected in a range of family types, but the law does not recognise this. The Bill will ensure that the courts have much greater flexibility to grant guardianship where they have been prevented from doing so. At present, awarding guardianship can be problematic if parents fall ill, pass away or cannot care for their children for a variety of reasons. The Bill offers legal support and protection to the children of married and unmarried parents, the parents' partners, the children's grandparents and other relatives. The Bill enables grandparents and other relatives to have easier access to children in cases of relationship breakdown and to apply for custody if a parent is unwilling or unable to take responsibility for caring for the child. I welcome this aspect of the Bill, as for many years grandparents have not been able to intervene where people have fallen ill and in situations of substance abuse.

The legislation reflects changing modern society and the various types of family that exist. We all know families whose setup is not seen to be traditional. The Bill protects and clarifies relationships for children living in such families. I welcome the clarity the Bill brings to cases in which children are parented by same-sex couples or have been born through donor-assisted human reproduction. This is a complex area which has until now been unregulated. The Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction first reported to the Government in 2005, but it has taken until now for action to be taken to give legal certainly to children and families in this situation. The Bill also provides for the establishment of a register of donor-conceived persons, which is important to provide clarity on parentage.

This means once a donor-conceived child turn 18 years of age she will be able to seek information about her donor. Many people were adopted and never knew who their real parents were and are still struggling to find out today.

I was disappointed to see that surrogacy was not included, but I heard today that the Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, has stated that his Department is working on a Bill to address the many complexities surrounding surrogacy. I urge the Minister to bring that legislation before the House as soon as possible. The possibility of transferring parentage from a surrogate to a genetic mother where there is agreement is a bold and brave move to address the difficult situation whereby the birth mother is deemed to be the mother and the genetic parents must adopt their own child. The Bill will enable civil partners and cohabiting couples who have lived together for more than three years to be enabled to apply to adopt jointly, provided they have been assessed as suitable adoptive parents.

I have heard the arguments against the Bill and comments from those who have intentionally confused the legislation with the forthcoming referendum on marriage equality. I do not support their point that this legislation will intentionally deny a child either a mother or a father.

This is a comprehensive and progressive Bill. It will provide much-needed support to families of all shapes and sizes. I thank the Minister for bringing the Bill to the House. I believe it is important legislation.

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