Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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1033. To ask the Minister for Health if he plans to introduce legislation to amend the assisted human reproduction Bill to ensure that children born to LGBTQ+ couples will have a legal parent-child relationship with both parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41621/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 (Act of 2015) reforms and updates family law to address the needs of children living in diverse family types. Parts 2 & 3 of the Act of 2015 commenced in May 2020 and provide a legal framework for parentage of children who are born as result of assisted human reproduction (AHR) involving donated eggs or sperm or embryos. Records are also required to be kept in relation to the identity of the donor(s), the child, the mother and the intending parent for the purposes of enabling donor-conceived children to access information relating to their genetic heritage.

Drafting of a bill on AHR and associated areas of research is ongoing by officials in my Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. This comprehensive and far-reaching piece of legislation encompasses the regulation, of a wide range of practices, including: gamete (sperm or egg) and embryo donation for AHR and research; domestic surrogacy; pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of embryos; posthumous assisted reproduction; and embryo and stem cell research. The legislation also provides for the establishment of an independent regulatory authority for AHR.

Subject to certain criteria being met, AHR treatment will be available to people irrespective of gender, marital status or sexual orientation.

The aim of the AHR legislation is to promote and ensure the health and safety of children born as a result of AHR, people undergoing AHR and intending parents.