Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
1717. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Health to respond to concerns raised (details supplied) in respect of parental rights for same-sex couples; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38146/23]
View answerThe Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 represented a significant change in family law, reforming it in a way that is inclusive of, and sensitive to, the reality of contemporary family life in Ireland, and better reflecting this reality by meeting the needs of children living in diverse family types.
Parts 2 and 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 commenced on 4 May 2020 and for the first time provided a legal framework for registering the births of children who are born as a result of assisted human reproduction involving donated gametes, while also including provisions to ensure protection of donor conceived children’s right to identity.
These provisions allow both parents in a same sex female couple to be included on the birth certificate of a child born through donor assisted human reproduction where the procedure takes place in a clinical setting in Ireland and the child is born in Ireland. The legislation also allows for a retrospective declaration of parentage for children born in Ireland as a result of a donor assisted human reproduction DAHR procedure where the procedure took place before the legislation commenced.
Officials from the Department of Health, the Department of Justice and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth are currently working on possible amendments to the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022, as published, for consideration by the Oireachtas, including possible amendments to other relevant pieces of legislation, such as the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.
The inclusion of any such amendments in the final legislation will ultimately be a matter for the Oireachtas.
