Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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269. To ask the Minister for Health if he will confirm that the fine detail of fertility treatments will be moved from primary legislation to AHR Regulatory Authority regulation and medical guidelines, in order that nothing in the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction Bill) 2022 will stop Irish patients from being able to receive new fertility treatments as they become available in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52385/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 (“the AHR Bill”) passed Second Stage in the Dáil on March 23rd 2022 and has been referred to the Select Committee on Health for Third Stage. 

The focus of this Bill is on the regulation, for the first time in this country, of a wide range of assisted human reproduction (AHR) practices undertaken within the jurisdiction.

Ireland is currently very much an outlier internationally and we do not have a specific regulatory framework in place in respect of this area of health care. This means that individuals are currently availing of complex and sometimes risky procedures, at present predominately provided through the private sector, in what is effectively a legal vacuum.

The provisions outlined within the AHR Bill generally will ensure that AHR practices and related areas of research are conducted in a more consistent and standardised way and with the necessary oversight, and it is specifically the establishment of the AHR Regulatory Authority (or the AHRRA) which is of central importance in this regard.

I am not certain as to whether the Deputy has specific types of ‘fine details’ of AHR treatments in mind, but I can assure him that my officials are very aware of the balance which needs to be struck between establishing a robust regulatory framework, on the one hand, and seeking to ensure that the legislation is flexible enough to keep up with developments in such an innovative and fast-moving area of medicine, on the other.

It is important to reflect that this new framework will regulate how AHR treatments are provided. In the first instance, for example, the legislation provides for a licensing system and treatment providers will be required to hold the requisite licence in order to provide treatments. The AHRRA will oversee and monitor this system, including to ensure that providers operate within the scope of the law and their licence. This regulatory framework will help bring guidance, clarity and peace of mind to service users, as well as to providers.

I wish to reiterate my commitment to progress this much-needed and long-awaited piece of historic legislation as quickly as possible to ensure that a robust regulatory framework for AHR is in place.