Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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245. To ask the Minister for Health the timeline he is working towards for the publication of his amendments to the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022; when he expects this Bill to reach Committee Stage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9266/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 was introduced to, and passed Second Stage in, the Dáil in March 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 healthcare. 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.

Following the approval in mid-December 2022 by the Government of the policy approach in respect of both the regulation of international surrogacy and the recognition of certain past surrogacy arrangements (domestic and international) the formal drafting process by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, in conjunction with the three Departments, as appropriate, is well underway.

These new provisions will need to be approved by Government following the completion of formal drafting by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel.

The process of drafting new provisions is being undertaken in tandem with the drafting of potentially substantial proposed amendments to the 11 Parts and 134 pages of the published Bill.

As the Deputy will appreciate, I am not in a position at this juncture to give a definitive timeline for the Bill’s referral to the Committee Stage, nor its subsequent passage through the Houses of Oireachtas but I wish to reiterate my commitment to progress this much-needed and long-awaited piece of historic legislation to ensure that a robust regulatory framework for AHR is in place as quickly as possible.