Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I had intended to wait and speak to the amendment but I will make some points now. It was shocking to people to discover that three years on from the historic referendum this matter is not addressed in legislation. We have received calls from people we know who cannot be properly recognised as the parents of their children. It was news to a lot of people that this had not been properly legislated for. We have proposed an amendment to ensure this is done within a certain timeframe.

There is frustration among the LGBT+ community at the delay and the drafting error. Human error is understandable but we need to take steps to right that error as soon as possible. This is about children's rights. It is about these children being treated in the same way as any other child. Real and practical problems arise for people, including the emotional issue of not being properly recognised on a birth certificate. There are also serious legal issues for children whose parents are not properly recognised. For example, upon the death of a non-recognised parent a child may have to pay inheritance tax because he or she will not be legally recognised as the child of that person. Pension benefits that might accrue to the child when somebody dies is also an issue and citizenship can also be an issue if the parent who is recognised as the parent is not Irish. There are problems with passports, which parents need to sign-off on. Couples are trying to live their lives and they cannot wait around for the Government to update this law. I will elaborate further on that point when I move our amendment on Committee Stage. We believe it is important to cater for those who are children born arising from non-donor assisted human reproduction facilities.

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