Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Today is 6 July. It is the first anniversary of the publication of the report of the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy. We are a year on. In that year, babies have been born and families have had happy moments of celebrating the birth of their babies and the growth of their family. Birthdays have happened. Children have started school. Children have started in crèche. They have engaged in extracurricular activities. They have joined the girl guides, the scouts, local sports clubs and all sorts of activities across the country. Children have also been sick and had to be hospitalised and needed treatment that required consent. Parents have received very serious diagnoses that put their futures in jeopardy and, hopefully, they will overcome that. Parents have split up and custody and access issues have had to be dealt with.

Parents have stayed together in the past year when, perhaps, they should not have done. Perhaps coercion and domestic violence of a silent type in the context of control has and is occurring. I am in contact with families that are in those situations. In the past year, those events all have had two parents at them. One parent has every recognition in law, has rights and entitlements and a say. Often, in fairness, they are biological fathers who do not want that full power and control. They want to share it with their spouse, be that the mother or the second father of any child, but they have no choice. There are the very tiny few who abuse that control. We have seen High Court cases in the past year. I have mediated in some cases.

I acknowledge that there has been a great deal of progress, that the relevant Ministers have met, that the interdepartmental group met and that the policy document went to Cabinet and was agreed by it in December In April, when we had the debate in the Dáil on the joint Oireachtas committee's report, the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, promised parents that the legislation would be through the Houses by the summer recess. I managed their expectations and stated that this was not likely. Then it was moderated to it being on Committee Stage by the summer recess. I managed their expectations again and stated that was also not likely because there would be a lot going on, with competing interests and various items of legislation being drafted and introduced. I acknowledge that we are on a promise of October next. I hope that promise will be adhered to. I have reason to be confident that will be the case.

We are a year on and families are still in difficult situations. Children are not having the right of a lifelong relationship with both of their parents that they deserve. I merely want to mark the anniversary of the report's publication and pay tribute to all the mammies and daddies across the country who live in these situations, deal with them and live happily ever after for the most part. For those who do not, however, the legislation is urgently needed.