I propose to take Questions Nos. 531 to 533, inclusive, and 588 together.
The Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 was signed into law by the President in July 2024, having passed all stages in both Houses of the Oireachtas. The primary purpose of this complex and far-reaching legislation is to regulate fertility clinics providing treatment and ensure that assisted human reproduction (AHR) practices and related areas of research are conducted in a more consistent and standardised way and with the necessary oversight. The 2024 Act encompasses the regulation for the first time of a wide range of practices undertaken in Ireland, including: the use and donation of gametes and embryos for AHR and research; pre-implantation genetic testing of embryos; and embryo and stem cell research. The establishment of the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA), as provided for in the legislation, is a vital component in the effective regulation of this sector. The AHR Bill as initially published also included provisions in respect of domestic altruistic surrogacy. However, the final 2024 Act also includes substantive new provisions in respect of the regulation of future surrogacy arrangements undertaken by Irish residents in other jurisdictions and the recognition of parentage arising from certain past domestic and international surrogacy arrangements. While the 2024 Act was progressing through the Houses of Oireachtas, issues were identified which required further consideration and consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. Formal drafting of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) (Amendment) Bill – which is largely concerned with outstanding issues of parentage and citizenship, but also seeks to make other necessary amendments to various other sections of the 2024 Act – is at an advanced stage, led by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, along with officials from my Department, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (DoJHAM), and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. The major remaining outstanding matters to be finalised relate to issues regarding citizenship and the recognition of parentage arising from children born as a result of DAHR procedures or surrogacy undertaken by Irish citizens abroad. The completion of the drafting of provisions in this regard, which is being led by the DoJHAM, is being progressed having regard to the complex legal and policy issues involved. It is a legally intricate area which impinges on very important aspects of private international law, must take into account Court judgments on a number of relevant ongoing legal cases and requires significant levels of engagement with the Office of the Attorney General (AGO). In that context, the Departments note both the difficulty internationally in securing bilateral or multilateral arrangements for mutual recognition of parental status and the absence of comparable comprehensive legislative frameworks in other jurisdictions. The Departments are therefore proceeding on the basis that a cautious and legally robust approach is required and will continue to progress the remaining issues as a priority with the AGO. In drafting the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024, as well as the AHR Amendment Bill, the Departments have worked with the AGO, to ensure that the legislation respects the rights of intending parents, surrogate mothers, and children born as a result of AHR procedures, under both the Irish Constitution and those arising from our international obligations, including under the European Convention on Human Rights. A particular focus in this regard is on the most potentially vulnerable parties involved in AHR practices – for example, surrogate mothers and, most particularly, the children who may be born through AHR. The surrogacy provisions in the AHR legislation looked to build on and learn from the experiences of other States which have sought to regulate surrogacy. The new laws were also developed having taken into consideration the views and recommendations of a large number of national and international experts, such as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children, the Irish Special Rapporteur on Child Protection and a dedicated cross-party parliamentary committee which was established specifically to examine the issue. In addition, adhering as much as possible to the Verona Principles – a set of policy and legislative guidelines produced by a group of experts in international law and human rights to ensure respect for the human rights of children born through surrogacy – was, and is, a major factor during the legislative drafting process. A fundamental principle underpinning the regulation of surrogacy is that, whether undertaken in Ireland or abroad, it will only be permitted if the fully-informed and voluntary consent of the surrogate mother is provided at all stages of the process. Therefore, a key requirement which needs to be met before pre-conception approval has been granted is that the surrogate mother will have received adequate counselling and independent legal advice on the implications of entering into a surrogacy agreement before providing her fully-informed and voluntary consent. Similarly, the fully-informed contemporaneous consent of the surrogate mother is an essential element of the Court application for the granting of a Parental Order which will have the most significant effect of transferring the parentage of a child born as a result of a surrogacy agreement. There are certainly no plans to remove the requirement for the post-birth consent of a surrogate mother to be provided, as set out in the 2024 Act. Principle 7 of the Verona Principles specifically relate to the consent of the surrogate mother and states, inter alia, that “confidence in the integrity of the circumstances surrounding their surrogacy arrangement is of great importance to the child’s rights” and “free and informed decision making in all legal, social, financial and medical matters by the surrogate mother shall be supported pre surrogacy arrangements, throughout the pregnancy and post birth”. I welcome the opportunity to hear all perspectives on issues relevant to the work of my Department. I was happy to meet with Equality for Children / the LGBTQ+ Parenting Alliance and, indeed, other advocacy groups, and to listen to their views. At the meetings, the groups shared their experience and were given time to make their views known. So, I can assure the Deputy that I am fully up to speed on the issues of interest to the groups. I would also refer to the fact that many of the issues raised in relation to what they wish to see included in the forthcoming AHR Amendment Bill are reflected in the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health’s pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS) report, which was published in October 2025. The PLS report and recommendations have been and are being considered as part of the formal drafting process. Regarding the particular query in respect of same-sex female couples who conceive without clinical assistance, the Deputy would be aware of the requirement, post-May 2020, that all donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR) procedures must take place in a DAHR facility. This ensures a high level of protection with regards the right to identity of donor-conceived children, whilst ensuring protection for donors and intending parents by providing certainty as regards parentage at the time of the procedure, and by ensuring that all necessary consents and information is properly executed and documented. It would not be possible, in practice, to provide the same guarantees as regards parentage and protection of the donor, whilst also ensuring the same level of protection for donor-conceived children’s right to identity where a procedure takes place in a non-clinical setting. At the same time, where gametes are not used in a clinical setting, it will not be possible to ensure compliance with the standards as set out in the European Union (EU) Bloods and Tissues Directive. These standards are to be updated and expanded upon in the EU’s proposed Regulation on standards of quality and safety for substances of human origin (blood, tissues and cells) for use on or in human recipients. Furthermore, it will not be possible to ensure the same standards as regards the donation and use of donated gametes to be introduced by the 2024 Act, including with regards to the limitations on the number of times gametes from the same donor can be used. Much progress has been made on the path to providing the necessary oversight and regulation of the AHR sector. Some administrative sections of the 2024 Act have been commenced, specifically to formally establish the AHRRA. In addition, work is under way with a view to commencing section 232 of the 2024 Act. This will result in the parentage of some donor-conceived children not covered by the 2015 Act being recognised. In conclusion, this is a very complex area and we need to get it right. The 2024 Act will be commenced in full subject to the AHR Amendment Bill being enacted and the AHRRA being suitably functional. However, please be assured that further progressing the AHR legislation and making the AHRRA fully operational are Government priorities and represent key commitments in the Programme for Government.
