Written answers

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Department of Health

Commencement of Legislation

Photo of Fiona O'LoughlinFiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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334. To ask the Minister for Health when Parts 2 and 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 will be commenced. [3871/19]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Parts 2 & 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 contain provisions relating to the regulation of donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR) procedures carried out in the State, including dealing with the rights of children born as a result of those procedures. The enactment of the Children and Family Relationships (Amendment) Act 2018 was necessary to correct typographical and technical errors in the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, to enable the subsequent commencement of Parts 2 & 3 of the Act.

Officials in my Department are working towards putting in place a number of important administrative and operational arrangements that are essential for the implementation of Parts 2 & 3. This includes the establishment of the National Donor-Conceived Person Register (the “Register”), the purpose of which is to vindicate the rights of a donor-conceived child to access information on their genetic heritage. This is based on the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child concerning the right of a child to an identity and internationally regarded as best practice. However, as the Register will contain personal and potentially sensitive information about the various parties to a DAHR procedure, and particularly about the children born as a result of the procedures, robust data protection measures must be put in place prior to the establishment of the Register.

The commencement of Parts 2 & 3 of the Act also requires consent forms relating to the parties to a DAHR procedure (donors and intending parents) to be prescribed by regulations. The Department is liaising with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in relation to the drafting of those regulations.

In addition, the appointment of authorised persons to ensure compliance of DAHR facilities with their obligations under this Act also needs to be finalised. It is my intention that Parts 2 & 3 of the Act will be commenced as soon as possible.

The provisions in Parts 2 & 3 are interconnected with provisions in other areas of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, particularly Part 9 which includes provisions for the registration and re-registration of the birth of a donor-conceived child. As such, officials from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Department of Health and the General Register Office are working together to ensure that the appropriate legislative, regulatory, and operational mechanisms are in place to allow for the earliest possible commencement of all of the relevant legislation that will allow for birth registrations of donor-conceived children.

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