Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to see Senator Buttimer in the Chair. I congratulate him on his role and wish him the very best. I also congratulate the new Leader. I look forward to working with both of them.

However, I am beginning their tenure with a complaint that the Commencement matter I tabled this morning stating the need for the Minister for Health to provide a timeline in bringing the amendments to the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022, which relates to international surrogacy, to the Select Committee on Health, was ruled out of order on the ground that the Minister has no official responsibility in the matter. If the Minister has no responsibility in the matter, who does? He was able to come out on the Plinth to make a big announcement last December, following the report of the joint committee last June, that the Cabinet had agreed the amendments on international surrogacy and to legislate for same. The Minister had the responsibility and glory of making that announcement, yet he is not responsible for the delivery of the drafted legislative amendments. I do not understand where that comes apart. This is not a victimless delay. Tomorrow a case will be heard in the High Court. It is a further adjournment of a case to tomorrow's date where a man is potentially terminally ill and the mother of the children needs a legal status regarding their children. Last week, I spoke to a woman on the phone whose ex-husband had weaponised the children to such an extent, that because she had the temerity to lodge a maintenance request with the courts, he called the An Garda to the house. He can seize her genetic child at any moment because of the lack of legislation governing international surrogacy.It is not acceptable for us to say that it is out of order because the Minister is responsible for overseeing his Department's drafting of legislation and is accountable for that. I dispute that assertion. We will have the same thing with the apartment defects. There are real people whose lives are affected by this every day. If this decision stands, I want a debate on how the Standing Orders of the House work and operate. It seems to me that if a Minister has the glory of announcing a Government decision, he must be accountable for delivery of the associated legislation.