Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will conclude by emphasising the urgency with which the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, wishes to be in a position to bring the new surrogacy provisions on Committee Stage of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 to the Select Committee on Health for consideration. He is particularly determined to seek a way to speedily resolve the predicament and uncertainty faced by parents of existing children born through surrogacy. Although it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases, he is fully aware of the difficult situations some families face in ongoing court proceedings. Other key principles underpinning any new legislation measures on international surrogacy will be protection of the rights of all children born as a result of cross-border surrogacy arrangements and the safeguarding of the welfare of surrogacy mothers. I will bring the points raised by the Senator back to the Minister. I will ask him to correspond directly with her. It is a matter she has highlighted and it is a matter I will bring to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and I will ask him to communicate directly with her on those points. Formulating legislation adhering to these principles is challenging, given the absence of an international framework, and the challenges associated with overseeing practices and services in other jurisdictions. This includes having assurances that surrogacy arrangements are of the highest ethical standards and prioritising those who may be most vulnerable to exploitation in international surrogacy. However, building on the work of the Oireachtas committee, of which the Senator was a member, and the interdepartmental group, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, hopes to be able to put forward the finalised new legislation to Cabinet shortly and ideally, when approved, to brief the Oireachtas accordingly .