Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed by the Minister's response, although I am not surprised that I am disappointed. However, I do not think one can keep kicking the can down the road to AHR legislation when the Minister is opening a Pandora's box with this legislation. This amendment should be considered on its merits. It is not as though these very unpleasant realities of modern life are not already on our threshold.

I heard the Minister's reference to medical ethics.However, with regard to the consanguinity, the Minister said that clinics would not be involved in doing that. She said it would be in breach of medical ethics. She did not say it would be in breach of the law. While the Minister is right undoubtedly that there are very few cases of this per year in Ireland, the fundamental question remains. It is not just a matter of assisted human reproduction, AHR, legislation that might come down the line because the Minister is legislating around parenting issues here and she must legislate on the basis that we might never have such AHR legislation in future and therefore she should legislate to deal with anything that could flow as a consequence of this legislation. It seems to me that what could flow from this legislation, with the way the Minister is recognising as parents all of these donor assisted human reproduction, DAHR, scenarios, is that we could have this mixing and confusion of the child's natural genetic origins and parenting and the child's legal relationships. It ought to be addressed in this Bill, and I will press the amendment.