249. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Health if she will urgently enact section 12 of the Assisted Human Reproductive Act 2024. [38039/26]

The Deputy will be aware that the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 – including Part 12, which has the heading “Past Domestic and International Surrogacy” – was enacted, having passed all stages in both Houses of the Oireachtas, and then signed into law by the President in July 2024.

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.

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. The formal drafting process for the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) (Amendment) Bill is in its final stages, led by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, along with officials from my Department, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. I expect to be in a position to introduce the published Bill to the Dáil this term.

The AHR Amendment Bill is a very substantive piece of legislation. It is largely concerned with outstanding issues of parentage and citizenship, particularly in respect of children born as a result of a DAHR procedure or surrogacy arrangement undertaken abroad by Irish resident parents or undertaken by Irish citizen parents living abroad. It also seeks to make other necessary amendments to various other sections of the 2024 Act, including in respect of the “past” surrogacy provisions in Part 12.

As the Deputy may be aware, it was necessary to commence some sections of the 2024 Act which relate to basic administrative functions of the AHRRA in order to be able to formally establish the body. I also signed an Order last month to commence three subsections of section 232 of the 2024 Act. This allows for the parentage of some donor-conceived children not covered by the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 to be recognised.

However, practically the entire remaining provisions in the 2024 Act are inter-connected, are largely contingent on the AHRRA being suitably operational and are subject to further amendment through the AHR Amendment Bill.

For instance, it was decided that the “prospective” and “past” international surrogacy provisions in the complete AHR legislation (as amended by the new Bill) must be commenced concurrently to ensure their proper operation.

A further concern is that a legal “lacuna” would be created in respect of surrogacy arrangements undertaken in any “interim” period between the time of the commencement of the “prospective” provisions and that of the “past” provisions, if the latter were to be commenced at an earlier point.

At a broad level, the importance of ensuring that parentage can be recognised in a wide set of circumstances is acknowledged.

As I understand, the current position in respect of the parentage of a child born as a result of a surrogacy arrangement, for example, is that most commonly an intending male parent who is genetically related to the child applies to the Courts for a Declaration of Parentage based on being the biological father of that child.

In this regard, it is also worth noting that where the child has a genetic father from surrogacy, that parent’s partner or spouse, if parentage has not been formally assigned to him or her, can apply for guardianship of the child, which affords many of the responsibilities of a parent and the protections that come with it.

Furthermore, my officials inform me it is probable that if the intending parent(s) who have undertaken a surrogacy arrangement abroad were issued with a birth certificate by the jurisdiction in which the child was born which names the intending parent(s) as the parents of that child, the parental status of those so named on such a foreign birth certificate may in effect be accepted by public or State bodies in a number of instances currently.

Finally, I want to reassure you that further progressing the entire AHR legislation and making the AHRRA fully operational are Government priorities and key commitments in the Programme for Government. Every effort will continue to be exerted to ensure that all outstanding work in this regard is concluded as soon as practicable.