Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise the excellent report that was launched this morning. I was very proud to be a member of that committee along with some very dedicated Oireachtas Member. It is unfortunate that Senator Mullen is not present to hear my comments. He raised the issue of the surrogacy report. We all came into it with an open mind and listened to the evidence from leading academic experts, legal experts, medics, surrogates, children born through surrogacy and families who have gone through that process. We all had the opportunity to input on witness lists, table amendments and call votes on amendments. To say that anybody was sidelined is completely inaccurate. To say anybody was bullied by any member of the committee or the committee as a whole is completely inaccurate. We are all Members of this House or the Lower House. We all have a platform to voice our opinions and we are all well able to put forward our opinions. I take personal offence to any suggestion that there was anything other than people working diligently within a tight timeframe, dealing with a difficult topic. I strongly refute any suggestion that was done in any way in bad faith or that there was a position decided beforehand. We came through a whole journey and I certainly learned an awful lot and acted in good faith. I am disappointed that such a good, positive day is brought down into the mire by some comments here.

We are moving towards a more inclusive society, lifting taboos around reproduction and women's health. The families that have gone through surrogacy, before they got to that point went through an awful lot of trauma. Quite often there was illness and other difficult issues for them to deal with in their lives. They have triumphed and provided a home for their children. These children are loved and wanted.We need to be very mindful not to use issues such as these, which are very sensitive but very important, to engage in some sort of culture war that we do not have in this country. If one person on the committee disagreed with the report, it is not because anybody was bullied. Maybe that person is just in the minority. Maybe Ireland has moved on and is an inclusive society. We all came from different parties and perspectives but we listened to the expert evidence. It is very unfortunate that this report is not widely welcomed. I wish all parties would accept the report and the recommendations. I hope the Government will act speedily to enact this legislation because families are crying out for it.