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

I thank Senators for their contributions. I would like to return to the reality for between 400,000 and 500,000 children in Ireland today. The Government's commitment to the Child and Family Relationships Bill 2015 is in the context of demographic data which confirm that more children than ever are living in diverse family situations. It is important that we consider the reality of children's lives. With this Bill, we are legislating for the diverse family situations in which children find themselves. We are giving them and their parents stability within the scope of the law. This is the first time in legislation that a child's best interests have been spelled out clearly in terms of the various criteria that need to be taken into account when a decision is being made about children. There is no question of creating a new fertility industry. We are regulating an issue. As to why we should legislate for assisted human reproduction, AHR, and donor assisted human reproduction, DAHR, why not? In 2005 the commission on AHR stated this matter needed legislation. When drafting a Bill on parentage, child and family relationships and creating greater stability for diverse family types, one must address this issue. This is not about same-sex marriage. According to the statistics, most children born through DAHR are born to opposite-sex married couples. That will remain the case. Only a minority are born to same-sex couples. The parentage of all of these children is being resolved through the Bill. For example, the presumption of parentage for a husband is rebuttable. This is one of the issues we are addressing.

I will revert to the statistics, but I referred to the cultural change that was needed in terms of openness and the range of other issues related to this matter. The Bill is incredibly child centred. Under it, we must have clear rules on consent in DAHR and information, that is, children knowing their biological origins. We are creating a situation where clear information must be available. The position is unregulated and a child has no right to information on his or her biological inheritance. We are changing this and moving in a child-centred way from anonymous to identifiable donation. This is in the interests of the child having access to that information. The golden thread running through the legislation is child centred. It is not about parental rights but a child's parentage. That is clear from what I have have been saying.