Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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240. To ask the Minister for Health the preparation that has been undertaken for new legislation in the area of human reproduction; the principles that would be enshrined in a new law; and when the heads of the Bill will be published. [47010/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I understand from my officials, who have engaged with the Deputy’s office, that this question relates to domestic surrogacy specifically.

As the Deputy will be aware, drafting of a bill based on the General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill is ongoing by officials in my Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. 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”. 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 AHR legislation encompasses the regulation, for the first time in Ireland, of a wide range of practices, including domestic altruistic surrogacy, as well as: gamete (sperm or egg) and embryo donation for AHR and research; 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.

The surrogacy provisions of the Bill outline the specific conditions under which surrogacy in Ireland will be permitted, including a requirement for all surrogacy agreements to be pre-authorised by the new AHR Regulatory Authority. The legislation also sets out a court-based mechanism through which the parentage of a child born through surrogacy may be transferred from the surrogate (and her husband, if applicable) to the intending parent(s).