Put legal value on female genetic link – report
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health issued its pre-legislative scrutiny on the , writes Eithne Reid O’Doherty BL.
The report puts forward 18 recommendations to include:
- The bill should have a child’s rights-based framework, with provision made to enshrine the paramount nature of the child’s best interest in granting a parental order or the declaration of parental orders under the 2015 act and the 2024 act,
- In decisions on parentage in relation to surrogacy or donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR), the courts and decision-making bodies should be provided with some judicial discretion,
- In cases of international DAHR, the committee recommends that the bill must provide for a mechanism for the second parent to have their parentage recognised. The bill must be “equality proofed”,
- In cases of Irish citizens living abroad, the bill must include a process to recognise the parentage of those who had children through surrogacy or DAHR (where such recognition exists),
- Provision should also be made to provide a path to parenthood for Irish citizens returning home who are in same-sex couples and whose children were both conceived and born abroad in countries that don’t recognise both same-sex parents,
- All unnecessary barriers to recognition must be removed. Non-court administrative procedures should be considered, as per the . The requirement for the High Court should be reconsidered. Applications for past surrogacy agreements should be allowed to be made in the Circuit Courts,
- A legal value should be put on the female genetic link in DAHR and surrogacy,
- The should be amended to allow joint parental rights for same sex couples in cases of non-clinical conception,
- The 2024 act contains no provision for parental leave or benefits for surrogacy families. This must be rectified as a matter of urgency,
- The Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA) should be provided with the power to establish an ethics committee to consider individual circumstances and cases where surrogacy agreements go beyond the prescribed framework.
The was enacted on 2 July 2024.
This bill has had a journey of 25 years but, as yet, no section has been commenced.
On 24-25 April this year, Maynooth University hosted a multi-disciplinary workshop and reported: “A key theme which emerged throughout the workshop was that the 2024 acts are much welcomed in the Irish context. Relatedly, there was strong support in general for its commencement as soon as possible.”
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has now (13 October) established the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA).
The minister appointed Professor Deirdre Madden of UCC as the first chair.
'Essential oversight'
Speaking yesterday, Minister Carroll MacNeill said: "Establishing the AHRRA brings essential oversight to this important part of the health service. Professor Madden has extensive expertise in healthcare law and ethics, including assisted human reproduction and surrogacy, bioethics, patient safety, and healthcare regulation,” she said.
A further seven people were named as ordinary members:
- Ciara Merrigan,
- Julie Kenneally,
- David Crosby,
- Brian Tobin (all for a term of four years), and
- Róisín Molloy,
- Samantha Doyle, and
- Mary Wingfield (all for a three-year term).
On 1 May, the minister said that intensive work was ongoing on the AHR legislation.
On 10 June, she said that issues raised by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission over potential human trafficking were acknowledged and considered.
Anti-trafficking directives
“However, the three relevant departments are not of the view that the AHR legislation contravenes the requirements of the EU anti-human trafficking directives.
“The three departments are also not aware of any concerns raised by the EU Commission in respect of the provisions of the act and the recast EU Trafficking Directive.”
On 2 July 2025 the minister added, “While the AHR Act 2024 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 bill – which is largely concerned with outstanding issues of parentage and citizenship but also seeks to make other necessary amendments to various sections of the AHR Act 2024 itself, including in respect of the ‘historic surrogacy’ provisions – is at an advanced stage, led by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, in conjunction with officials from my Department, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality,” she said.