30 June 2005
Dr. Henry: I welcome the legislation. However, I am concerned the Government still has not addressed the issue of children born through a surrogacy arrangement in Ireland or abroad, which is more complicated.
I do not know whether the Minister of State had read the report of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction but it addresses the major problem of surrogacy, particularly where the child is born abroad. Following the reporting of high profile cases in the press, we are aware such children are entering the State. However, it is difficult for them to obtain a personal public service number and other documentation that flows from that. It is impossible to register a number of these children under adoption legislation because a financial arrangement has been entered into regarding their births. While the commissioning couple may be regarded as the legal parents of the child, a number of the children may be in a dangerous position.
The Guardianship of Infants Act has been used by some fathers to give them guardianship of a surrogate child but the mother has no legal right over the child in this State. I am concerned that the introduction of legislation to address this problem will continue to drift. I first raised the issue in 1999 and it will drift until a dreadful high profile case ends up in the courts, following which it will be addressed. I hope this will not happen but I despair that another way to address this issue will be found. Given the complexities of legislation that would be required to address human assisted reproduction, this issue will not be dealt with separately.
A number of children who were born to surrogate mothers are in their teens and their parents are getting older. There could be bereavements and disputes over inheritance rights and so on. What thought has the Government put into the issue? Children are involved and their rights are important in the context of this issue, not the niceties of our views on surrogacy and so on. What progress is the Government making to ensure they have the same legal rights as other citizens?
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Dr. Henry: I thank the Minister of State for his response to the points I raised but I urge him and his officials to read the section on surrogacy in the report of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction. Legislation has been promised in this House for decades but this issue cannot wait. The Minister of State must take the recommendations in that report and deal with the issue as fast as possible before some ghastly case arises that no one wants.
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