Seanad debates

Thursday, 26 March 2015

Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have examined the amendment carefully, have received legal advice on it and would like to go through my reaction to it. The purpose of the amendment is to specify that a donor-conceived child is a child born as a result of a DAHR procedure carried out after the commencement of section 4. The existing provision specifies that a donor-conceived child is a child born in the State after the commencement of the section as a result of a DAHR procedure. The Senator's amendment would see a very clear cut-off. Where a child is born through a procedure which took place before commencement, the parents can guarantee the assignment of parentage only by means of an application under section 21 or 22. Where a child is born through a procedure which took place after commencement, parentage is assigned under section 5.

The difference in effect between the two provisions is that the current formulation will allow greater flexibility. It will take some time to prepare all the necessary regulations and forms concerning consent, and this would be done by the Department of Health. The form is likely to be clear well in advance of the commencement of Parts 2 and 3. Where a child is born after commencement and if the consent of the intending parents has complied with the requirements set out in sections 9 and 11, it may be possible, therefore, to assign parentage under section 5. This will provide greater confidence and certainty for couples undertaking or contemplating donor-assisted fertility treatment. There is extra protection for those families if their child is born after commencement but the donor is unknown or the consent does not comply with the criteria set out in sections 9 and 11 in that the provisions of sections 21 and 22 will still allow them to obtain a court declaration of parentage.

Given the lead-in time to commencement and the fact that the treating clinics are already commencing preparations, the extra flexibility provided by the current formulation is both practical and desirable and is to the benefit of the intending parents of the child who may be born as a result of procedures which the prospective parents are already considering. I hope, on the basis of this explanation, the Senator might withdraw the amendment.

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