Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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825. To ask the Minister for Health if her Department considered ethical objections, including those grounded in secular or non-religious bioethics, to the presumption of consent for organ donation introduced under the Human Tissue Act 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34111/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024 was enacted in February 2024. The Act is a composite piece of legislation that includes provisions around donation and transplantation of organs, tissues, and cells, post-mortem practice and procedures, anatomical examination, and public display of bodies after death. Crucially, it embeds in legislation the idea that consent is the defining principle across all these sensitive areas.

Part 2 of the Act which provides, for the first time, a national legislative framework for organ donation and transplant services in Ireland, commenced on 17 June 2025.

Under the legislation, all adults in Ireland are considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die unless they have recorded a decision not to donate on the Relevant Organ Donation Opt-Out Register or are in one of the excluded groups. It is important to reassure people that family members will always be consulted before any action is taken. This is commonly referred to as a soft opt-out system of organ donation.

The Act was drafted following extensive consultation with stakeholders including two public consultations.

Most people in Ireland are in favour of organ donation, and the new system changes the default assumption to one that matches the prevailing public attitude regarding organ donation. Meanwhile, the Register is intended to ensure that a person’s right to autonomy, self-determination and bodily integrity is respected.

Adopting an opt-out system of consent for organ donation will bring Ireland in line with international best practice and aims to save lives by increasing the donor pool in Ireland.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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826. To ask the Minister for Health the means by which the Department intends to monitor and evaluate the impact of the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024 on trust in the healthcare system, particularly among minority religious or ethical communities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34112/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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827. To ask the Minister for Health the safeguards in place under the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024 to ensure the religious beliefs of a deceased individual, particularly where such beliefs prohibit or strongly discourage post-mortem organ removal, are respected, even in the absence of an opt-out registration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34113/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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828. To ask the Minister for Health if there is a mechanism under the Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024 to allow individuals to object to the presumption of consent model on ethical or philosophical grounds while still indicating a willingness to donate organs voluntarily; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34114/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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829. To ask the Minister for Health the procedures in place to ensure next-of-kin consent is not used to override the known religious or ethical objections of the deceased, where the individual has not registered on the organ donor opt-out register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34115/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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830. To ask the Minister for Health if any exemptions exist under the Human Tissue Act 2024 for individuals or communities whose cultural or religious beliefs prohibit posthumous organ donation, even if they have not formally opted out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34116/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 826, 827, 828, 829 and 830 together.

The Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Act 2024 was enacted in February 2024. The Act is a composite piece of legislation that includes provisions around donation and transplantation of organs, tissues, and cells, post-mortem practice and procedures, anatomical examination, and public display of bodies after death. Crucially, it embeds in legislation the idea that consent is the defining principle across all these sensitive areas.

Part 2 of the Act, which commenced on 17 June 2025, provides for the first time a national legislative framework for organ donation and transplant services in Ireland.

Under the legislation, all adults in Ireland are considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die unless they have recorded a decision not to donate on an Opt-Out Register or are in one of the excluded groups. It is important to reassure people that family members will always be consulted before any action is taken. This is commonly referred to as a soft opt-out organ donation system. Under this system, organ donation remains voluntary.

This system does not include an exemption for persons as a result of their cultural or religious beliefs, or other ethical or philosophical grounds. The excluded groups include:

• Children under the age of 18.
• People who don’t normally live in Ireland or who have lived here for less than a year.
• People who may not have had the capacity to make a decision to opt-out of organ donation before they died.
• People whose family members can’t be contacted in time to confirm that they don’t object to the donation of their loved one’s organs.