Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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262. To ask the Minister for Health when all sections of the Children and Families Relationships Act 2015 will be enacted; the timeframe for full enactment; if there are barriers impinging on the rights of same sex married partners and their children prior to enactment of all sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33266/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 (Commencement of Certain Provisions Order) 2016 (S.I. No. 12 of 2016) commenced the bulk of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 with effect from 18 January 2016. That Commencement Order brought provisions of Parts 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12 and 13 of the Act into operation. Part 10 of the Act, which amended the Passports Act 2008, was commenced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade on 1 July 2015.

Parts 2 and 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 provide for parentage through donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR). The issue of the recognition of parentage for same sex couples and their children is dealt with under Part 2 of the Act. It was indicated during the passage of the Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015 through the Dáil and the Seanad that an appropriate transition period for these Parts would be required in order to carry out significant preparatory work to facilitate a seamless transition to the new regulatory framework laid out in the Act. Detailed work on Parts 2 and 3 is underway and it is intended that these will be commenced later this year. Other provisions of the Act which relate to DAHR which are related to Parts 2 and 3 will be co-ordinated with the commencement of those Parts.