Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When we ask a question and we need an answer to a Commencement matter from a Minister, it is reasonable to expect that the Minister is able to engage with the subject matter. I am not sure where the fault lies. I am not sure whether it is in Government, putting Ministers on a rota or whether it is within the Cathaoirleach's office in accepting who is being put forward. It needs to end. We need answers for the people who ask us to speak here.

Last weekend I opened the newspapers to hear the fantastic news that the amendments relating to international surrogacy are to be brought to Cabinet in the coming weeks. I am delighted to report that it caused great joy and relief among members of the surrogacy community in Ireland that at last there is a pathway to ensure we have security of relationship - lifelong relationship - between second parents and their children.

On Tuesday, a case relating to a surrogacy matter was adjourned in the High Court. In the context of that, Mr. Justice Jordan said that in all these cases with children involved, parents are dealing with the situation where every year counts. He quoted one of his colleagues who said in a judgment that parents have but a summer lease on the lives of their children. He said that it is completely wrong that the State uses up time and does not deal with these issues with the priority and expedition required because they are dealing with children and the parents of children.

Our former colleague, the former Minister Alan Shatter, wrote today in The Irish Timesabout his journey in trying to introduce legislation on surrogacy. His guidelines from 2012 are the ones still used today. They are fantastic for families who need to grow their families via surrogacy. In it he wrote:

Too many families and children born through surrogacy have been left in a legal limbo by the failure to date to enact a comprehensive surrogacy law. Such law is urgently required in the best interests of children to recognise on a sound legal footing parental and wider family relationships, to provide absolute clarity with regard to parental rights and for parents’ peace of mind.

I hope this issue will be resolved in the next while. I will have my eyes on those amendments. It is my understanding that they are comprehensive and very much reflect the work of the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy. We cannot have any delay. Those who make decisions on the allocation of time for the Select Committee on Health need to ensure they make space for this legislation to come through quickly. There are children with parents with serious illnesses who need that relationship with their parents. Where relationships have broken down children are being weaponised. Women and second fathers are being denied access to their children. We need this legislation now.