Yesterday, like many other Deputies and Senators, I joined outside Leinster House a number of parents of children born through surrogacy who are looking for the most basic of rights for those children to be recognised, namely, the right to a family. They expressed their shock and dismay at some of the proposals coming forward. We have a special rapporteur on children who has recommended creating clear pathways for parenthood. When will the Government follow through on those recommendations? When will these families get a pathway to parenthood, recognition of international surrogacy and retrospective recognition?

The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and I had the opportunity to go out and meet some of those families yesterday. We have engaged with many of them over recent months. There has been substantial engagement between my Department, the Ministers, Deputies McEntee and Stephen Donnelly, and the Attorney General on this matter. It is an issue we discussed recently at Cabinet. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, will be bringing forward a proposal for a special Oireachtas committee to examine specifically the issue of surrogacy and to look at bringing forward amendments to the assisted human reproduction Bill that is being led by the Department of Health. We are very aware of the lacuna in the law, which was made particularly clear by the report of the special rapporteur to which the Deputy referred. The Government is very conscious that we must act. Too many governments in the past have not addressed this particular issue. Now is the opportunity to do so.