Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Special Rapporteur published the report “Review of Children’s Rights and Best Interests in the Context of Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) and Surrogacy in Irish Law” in December 2020. The report comprises issues relating to parentage and the right to identity in donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR) and surrogacy carried out in this jurisdiction and abroad. Surrogacy and DAHR undertaken abroad give rise to a range of legal, ethical and social issues, and concern areas of law that intersect across the remits of several Government Departments. Since the publication of the report, my Department has been working with the Departments of Health and Justice in respect of these policy areas.

As the Deputy is probably aware, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 passed Second Stage in the Dáil in March 2022 and has been referred to the Select Committee on Health for Third Stage.

This legislation, brought by the Minister for Health, encompasses the regulation, for the first time in this country, of a wide range of assisted human reproduction (AHR) practices, including domestic altruistic surrogacy. The published Bill does not contain provisions to regulate surrogacy arrangements undertaken in other jurisdictions.

In January 2022, the Government agreed that issues relating to international surrogacy required further detailed consideration and agreed to the establishment of a Special Joint Oireachtas Committee on International Surrogacy. The Special Rapporteur appeared before that Committee, as did a range of stakeholders and officials.

Following the publication of the Final Report of the Special Oireachtas Joint Committee on International Surrogacy, an Inter-Departmental Group was established to review the Report’s recommendations, along with other relevant matters, with the aim of determining an agreed policy position and suitable next steps, in the form of a Policy Paper and appropriate outline legislative proposals.

In mid-December 2022, the Government approved a policy approach in respect of both the regulation of international surrogacy and the recognition of certain past surrogacy arrangements (domestic and international). It also approved outline legislative proposals for inclusion in the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022.

The formal drafting of these legislative provisions by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, in conjunction with the three relevant Departments (Health, Justice and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth), is at an advanced stage.

The new provisions will need to be approved by Government following the completion of this process.

It is crucial that the final detailed provisions are robust and able to withstand rigorous scrutiny, given, for instance, the range of complexities involved, the rights of the various parties involved in surrogacy arrangements, and the necessity to ensure consistency with any related existing legislation on the Statute Book.

It is intended that the new parts dealing with international surrogacy as well as recognition of certain past surrogacy arrangements will be introduced into the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill at Committee Stage.

I wish to reiterate my commitment to achieving the goal of providing for a route to formal recognition by the State of past surrogacy arrangements or surrogacy arrangements in other jurisdictions.