John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Labour Party and Deputy Bacik for bringing this important legislation. I also thank the advocacy groups for all their work on the issue. A number of them are in the Gallery this evening to listen to this very important debate and I welcome them. Sinn Féin will be supporting this critical legislation.

As has already been outlined, the Bill works to address current gaps in family law. If passed, it will ensure that all children born to same-sex female couples will be treated equally under the law. All families deserve to be treated fairly and equally under the law in this Republic. The children of same-sex couples must be allowed to have full legal relationships with both parents. As the children of LGBT+ parents, they must be treated equally, enjoying all of the same rights as other children. To make this a reality, gaps in current legislation must be addressed, which is what this Bill sets out to do. By passing the Bill, the House will move towards the achievement of this aim.

When citizens of this State voted to support the marriage equality referendum in May 2015, the unambiguous message that emanated from the result was clear - the citizens of this State wished that LGBTQ relationships and families be treated equally by the State. In 2015, we also saw the enactment of the Children and Family Relationships Act, which represented a welcome move in the right direction towards equality for same-sex parents by allowing both parents to be listed on a child's birth certificate. As welcome as this legislation was at the time, the narrow parameters contained within the Act led to the exclusion of many children, preventing them from having a legal parent-child relationship with both parents. Professor Conor O'Mahony, the former special rapporteur for child protection, in his 2020 report A Review of Children's Rights and Best Interests in the Context of Donor Assisted Human Reproduction and Surrogacy in Irish Law, described the current framework as having had a negative impact on children's rights to non-discrimination and to recognition of family relationships.

This should not be allowed to happen. As legislators and humanitarians, we have a responsibility to support all moves towards the equality of children in this State.

It has been alluded to by the Minister that the Government has legislation before a committee, that being the assisted human reproduction Bill, which would ideally have addressed the gaps we are discussing. The Minister stated that he would table amendments to address some of the issues in the legislation, but I will reserve judgment until I see them. He also stated that he was open to accepting other amendments. I hope he will follow through on that. It is the norm for the Government to oppose Opposition amendments to legislation, so we will see whether he is true to his word if the Opposition tables amendments on Report Stage.

This critical legislation needs to proceed. It is disappointing that the Minister has applied a timed amendment. This legal anomaly continues to have serious implications for families. The Bill seeks to ensure that the interests of the child are paramount at all times and in all instances covered by the Children and Family Relationships Act. There can be no more important factor that bears consideration than that. By adding their support to the Bill, Deputies across the House, in particular those from Government parties, would lead to this issue being addressed. I ask the Government to review its timed amendment, take this Bill on board and consider the Opposition's amendments to its own legislation. If the Minister is to be true to his word about treating all children in the State equally, we need to address these serious anomalies. Sinn Féin will support the Labour Party legislation.

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