Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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274. To ask the Minister for Health to outline his plans to streamline surrogacy laws; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5296/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Officials in my Department are currently drafting the General Scheme of legislative provisions on assisted human reproduction (AHR) and associated research, which will include provisions relating to surrogacy. It is envisaged that the General Scheme will be completed by the end of June 2017. Once the General Scheme has been approved for publication by Government it will be submitted to the Office of the Attorney General requesting Parliamentary Counsel to draft a Bill based on the approved General Scheme.

The proposed legislation will take cognisance of the 2014 Supreme Court judgment in the MR and Anor v An tArd Chláraitheoir & Ors (surrogacy) case, which found that the birth mother, rather than the genetic mother, is the legal mother. It is envisaged that the legislation will establish a mechanism for transfer of parentage from the surrogate (and her husband, if she has one) to the intending parents.