Results 9,961-9,980 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The current situation is there are probably hundreds of children who have been born through IVF who are not aware of that fact. What we are doing through this Bill is providing a system whereby the information will be recorded and available. Information is moving from non-identifiable to identifiable and will be available. This depends on whether the parents tell the child of his or her...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I acknowledge we are legislating to improve the position and to ensure there is a culture of openness and that as much information as possible is made available to a child. From a public policy viewpoint, we are creating a mechanism where that information can be made available.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: What the Government does in this Bill is to give certainty to donor-conceived children with regard to their parentage. It will enable those who brought a child into being in mutual love and commitment to each other and to the child to be recognised as the child's parents. The Bill addresses the current anomalous situation whereby the second person, who may have shared in all the joys and...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have nothing further to add.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank the Senator for his concern but I am fine.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The amendment would remove the word "any" from "any legal or counselling expenses". However, this would alter the nuanced meaning of the phrase, which is intended to convey that, in certain circumstances, legal and counselling expenses may not apply. For example, on the donation of an embryo, counselling expenses may not arise on the grounds that the donors have already undergone...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Broader.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: No. What it is intended to convey is if any legal or counselling expenses arise. I hope the Senator will accept that this is the intention.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The legal advice indicated to me that we could not extinguish the parentage of a known donor retrospectively. There are major legal issues when dealing with retrospective measures in law. My legal advice was that parentage could not be extinguished retrospectively.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Legally, he is a parent in law and we cannot change that retrospectively.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: This section requires an expert to report to the best interests of the child in order to assign parentage. I have made provision that the court must be satisfied that the order is in the best interests of a minor child, as it is generally for a child to have security in his or her family relationships. However, the order is generally to be made on the facts of the case, as set out, rather...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: We discussed this issue in the Dáil when Sinn Féin submitted this amendment. It would remove the requirement that a donor assisted human reproduction procedure would be carried out by a registered medical practitioner or by a registered nurse. The aim appears to be that the parentage of a child born through a non-clinical procedure, such as self-insemination, would be recognised...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: This amendment requires an assessment in advance of the best interests and welfare of a child to be born. In current practice, this is a matter for clinics in the dealing with patients. There are wide implications for assisted human reproduction, AHR, more generally, which is why I have not made explicit provision in the Bill. This provision has implications for access to all forms of...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Clearly, the move to identifiable donations is an important aspect of a more regulated approach to this matter and deals with some of the issues that have been raised. This amendment requires a maximum limit on births through donor gametes from an individual donor.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I was speaking about the amendment when I said that it proposes a maximum limit on births through donor gametes from an individual donor. This is another issue that will be dealt with in the broader assisted human reproduction legislation. I can inform the House that the Minister for Health will be imposing limits on the maximum number of births. I understand the limit will be set out not...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is the case because it is more appropriately dealt with by the Department of Health. As I outlined earlier to the House, assisted human reproduction and indeed donor-assisted human reproduction encompass a range of broad issues and need to be dealt with. We have mentioned many of those issues here today. It is clear from the work of the 2005 commission that this significant legislation...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: We are dealing with aspects of parentage. As I keep saying, we are not dealing with the broader issues. The legislation will dovetail together. There is a transition period as well. The consents and the regulations are appropriately dealt with by the Department of Health and will be dealt with by that Department. This is the first time any Government has attempted to deal with this...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I was asked about the limit. I said that the limit is expected to be three donor families.