Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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234. To ask the Minister for Health the reason the establishment of the national donor-conceived person register has taken over a year to set up, leaving many parents and children currently in limbo as to their legal entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11928/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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When the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 was enacted in April last year, the Minister for Justice and Equality indicated that Parts 2 and 3 of the Act, which deal with donor-assisted human reproduction, would not be commenced for at least a year following enactment. This period was agreed between the then Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, and the Minister for Justice and Equality for a number of reasons, namely; to provide an appropriate transition period and ensure that people currently undergoing donor-assisted human reproduction treatment could continue that treatment and to give fertility clinics time to prepare for the new regulatory framework. Minister Fitzgerald has indicated that this transition period is a practical and pragmatic administrative solution to facilitate the seamless transition to a new regulatory framework. This transition period will also allow time for officials in the Department of Health to conduct the significant amount of preparatory work required to enable these provisions (including provisions relating to the National Donor-Conceived Person Register) to enter into force. This preparatory work is in progress involving officials from my Department.