Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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1534. To ask the Minister for Health the stage of the drafting of the surrogacy Bill; when it is expected to be ready; if international surrogacy and retrospective declarations of parentage will be included; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34015/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, drafting of a bill on assisted human reproduction (AHR) and associated areas of research is ongoing by officials in my Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. This comprehensive piece of legislation will encompass the regulation, for the first time in Ireland, of a very wide range of practices, including domestic altruistic surrogacy. I can assure the Deputy that publication of this legislation is a priority for my Department and the Government, and a commitment to enact this legislation is included in the Programme for Government, “Our Shared Future”. Officials in my Department and the Office of the Attorney General continue to prioritise the drafting of this complex legislation and will engage intensively over the next few months to finalise the Bill.

The draft Bill does not contain provisions to regulate surrogacy arrangements undertaken in other jurisdictions. As issues relating to international surrogacy concern areas of law that intersect across the remits of several Government Departments, my Department is engaging with the Department of Justice and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in respect of this policy area.