Parents of children born via surrogacy can apply for parental order from next year
The move is confirmed in a letter from the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly dated November 27. File picture: Don Moloney
Parents of children born via surrogacy will be allowed to apply for a parental order from next year, the can reveal.
The move comes following the passage of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, which was signed into law on July 2, this year.
While no sections of the legislation have been commenced yet, from June 1 next year, Section 12, which covers the retrospective declaration of parentage, can be applied for by second parents.
Until then, only one parent — the biological father — has any legal rights to the child in Ireland. The second parent currently has no rights to the child but can apply for guardianship after two years with the father’s consent.
A letter from the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly dated November 27, and seen by the said: “I wish to inform you and your colleagues in Irish Families Through Surrogacy, that I intend Part 12 of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 as well as other related provisions to be commenced on June 1, 2025.
"This will allow parents of existing children born as a result of past surrogacy agreements to apply from that date to the High Court for a parental order to confirm the State’s recognition of their full parental rights."
There is no exact figure of how many children have been born via surrogacy and living here.
Families of retrospective parentage have welcomed the news, but pointed out there is still no further confirmation on the amendments which were due to pass through the Seanad in September.
Those amendments include habitual resident clauses — for people who are not resident in Ireland at the time their baby was born — and foreign parental orders (which are not recognised here).
The period between the commenced date of the legislation and the establishment of the regulatory body is also an issue — there is no legislation governing this section of time and it was expected to be addressed in the amending bill.
In an open letter posted online in response to the Minister, Irish Gay dads said they have “not received a similar letter despite continuously requesting updates from Stephen Donnelly/Department of Health via the LGBTQ+ Parenting Alliance.
“This is probably because FF have listed the AHR legislation as a Women’s Health Issue as opposed to a LGBTQ+ issue. The timing of this letter is extremely interesting with a general election happening this Friday.”
Lauragh Goggin from Co Wexford, whose son was born via surrogacy in 2021, has told the : “As a parent who is covered by this piece of the legislation the retrospective parentage order, I am beyond thrilled for me and my family. However, there are still many families that are still left out and awaiting amendments.
The Department of Health said: “It is not possible at this stage to provide definitive timelines for the commencement of the various provisions within the Act.”
