Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise a concern around the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill. This concern has been escalated to me by medics who have studied the draft Bill.

First, I take the opportunity to say that I am so pleased with this week’s announcement that we will be providing public funding for publicly available IVF for the first time ever.

As I said, it has come to my attention that the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill may be medically and scientifically out of date and could have unintended consequences. The reason is that provides for treatment for those with a specific need. Today, people without specific needs can and indeed do avail of fertility treatments. Who do I mean by that? I mean same-sex couples, who avail of surrogacy, and women, particularly single women, who choose to preserve their fertility by freezing their eggs. It is essential that all fertility treatments currently available remain legally permissible, and both publicly and privately accessible, once the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill becomes law. Can the Tánaiste provide that reassurance today?

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