Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 14, line 4, to delete "18 years" and substitute "21 years".

The amendment seeks to require that a person would have attained at least the age of 21 years instead of 18 years before consenting to the use of his or her gamete. It is connected with amendment No. 9 which would require the certification that counselling has been received by the person in regard to the donation of his or her gametes.

One of the real failures of the Bill is its lack of a holistic approach. Apart from the lack of care and respect for the rights of some of the children that will be affected by it, there is also the matter of behavioural issues to which the Minister referred. Apart from that, one must also consider the rights of young people who are willing at a stage of their lives when although they might have reached the age of majority they are not necessarily mentally or intellectually mature. I believe there is considerable evidence to show that young men in particular often do not mature until much later and their decision making reflects an immaturity of years. When it comes to something as fundamental as becoming a father or mother it seems to me that it does not get much more serious than that. A duty of care is required for such people. Assuming for a moment that what is proposed in the legislation goes ahead and that one contemplates donor-assisted human reproduction, as the Government certainly does, then one would have thought it a minimal requirement that there would be some kind of care or concern also for the people who donate their gametes, perhaps people who are immature or young people who are in need of money. Students are often prevailed upon in different countries to donate their gametes for small amounts of money. It seems to me that a more holistic view of the human person would require that would not happen without counselling and I do not think it should happen before the person is aged 21. I will return to the point on counselling in due course.