Results 10,401-10,420 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The amendment would ensure only married couples could jointly be the parents of a child born through donor-assisted human reproduction. It would specifically exclude cohabiting couples or civil partners from joint legal parentage of a child. This would go much further than establishing a hierarchy of family types because it would set out that the only family we would be prepared to...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes, but ECHR law in this area is evolving and many countries are reviewing their legislation. Some of the legislation to which Senators have referred was put in place quite some time ago.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The amendment is problematic in terms of public policy and would have serious implications regarding the European Convention on Human Rights in that it would completely fail to recognise the right of non-marital couples to a private and family life. While Ccnvention jurisprudence in the area of assisted reproduction remains limited, it is likely that providing access to donor-assisted...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: In fact, it states a range of family types, including single women, can do so. I do not believe the amendment is supported by evidence-----

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: -----and I cannot accept it.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Bill will have no impact on the marital family. The existing protections will remain in place. The legislation is about addressing the needs of other families. On public policy and since the coming into force of the Status of Children Act 1987, we do not discriminate against children on the basis of their parents' marital status. That is the reality. Reference was made to the...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Senator referred to an agenda, but I am discussing public policy. The public policy approach is to continue that which is encapsulated in the Status of Children Act 1987, whereby we do not discriminate against children on the basis of different family types.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Our legislation supports the children of married families by promoting, in the context of marriage breakdown, their right to have a meaningful relationship with both parents. I wish to highlight some of the points about the rights of families and couples. As determined by the European Court of Human Rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, non-marital couples have a...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes, but it is relevant.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes, but the other cases to which I refer involve a child's right to a family life in all circumstances.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have gone into detail on this before and I will not repeat it. The proper place for the best interests assessment for access to treatment is in the forthcoming AHR legislation.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: We are introducing legislation to allow assignment of parentage in this Bill. The balance of AHR issues are being dealt with by the Department of Health. The clinical practice currently in the 13 clinics which operates here is three to four recipients maximum per donor.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: No.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I thank Senator Ó Clochartaigh for tabling this amendment, which would provide for a transition period to allow couples currently undertaking donor-assisted human reproduction procedures to continue with their treatment and to facilitate an orderly move to the regulatory framework that is outlined in sections 2 and 3. I have already clarified the position on providing a transitional...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I dealt with this issue previously and said then that the prohibition is so phrased that if intending parents are referred to a facility that provides anonymous gamete services, the operation would commit an offence, even if the referral was not in order to receive services using anonymous gametes. This is problematic because, clearly, many services do both and provide both anonymous or...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Maybe the Senator will sing it to us.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: In cases of assisted human reproduction, where the use of donor gametes is required, some individuals and couples prefer to use gametes donated by a family member, rather than from an unknown third-party donor, that is, a stranger. This is known as intra-familial gamete donation. An example of this would be where a woman donates an egg to her sister to use as part of her AHR treatment - and...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: No.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I cannot understand why Senator Mullen would use the phrase "timid" when the reality is that the provisions in the legislation will allow the court, if the failure is ongoing, to order the clinic to cease providing donor assisted human reproduction services. That will have serious financial and reputational repercussions for the clinics concerned and would be a strong incentive to comply...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Section 32. The Minister may make a further application to the court under subsection (5) and if that failure is then ongoing, as I said, the Minister can order the clinic to cease providing the services. I think it is very clear. The key issue in enforcing compliance is a robust inspection regime under which the officers designated by the Minister for Health will be able to inspect the...