Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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123. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 126 of 11 April 2017, if children born through surrogacy have their constitutional rights to have their well being and best interests promoted, as stipulated in Article 42A, violated by the absence of parental leave; her views on a recent case in Spain (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19487/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am unable to offer an interpretation of the Constitution by way of reply to a Parliamentary Question, and it would not be appropriate of me to comment on judicial decisions in another jurisdiction.

What I can do is reiterate my reply to Parliamentary Question 126 of 11 April 2017, in which I made the point that surrogacy is not currently recognised under Irish legislation, and that my colleague, the Minister for Health, is currently preparing legislative proposals on assisted human reproduction and associated issues, that will include provisions relating to surrogacy. It is envisaged that the General Scheme of a Bill will be completed by the end of June 2017 and it is intended that it will be submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health for pre-legislative scrutiny once approved by Government. Once the substantive issue of surrogacy has been provided for in law, the consequential issue of statutory maternity and paternity leave for parents of children born by surrogacy can also be addressed.