Confirmation from the Minister for Health today that the second Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) Bill will be delayed until the end of the year is deeply disappointing, according to Social Democrats TD P\u00e1draig Rice.<\/p>\n
Deputy Rice, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on health, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn July of last year, the D\u00e1il passed the first AHR Bill, which has still not been commenced. A second Bill to close the gaps in this law was promised within weeks, but there is still no sign of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days before the election, then Health Minister Stephen Donnelly wrote to campaigners to say that the legislation would be commenced on June 1, 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just two months from now, and the second Bill isn\u2019t even published. Without this further legislation, the 2024 Act cannot be commenced in full.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister for Health confirmed to me in the D\u00e1il today that the second Bill will not be published until June, with that legislation not expected to be enacted until at least December.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost 10 years on from the marriage equality referendum, some families are still facing the absurd situation where one spouse is the legal parent, while the other is a legal stranger. This is utterly unacceptable in a modern, inclusive republic.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s response from Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will be met with great disappointment by affected families and advocates. She must reengage with these families immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy reneging on previous commitments, the government is denying equality to the children of Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 1, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Confirmation from the Minister for Health today that the second Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) Bill will be delayed until the end of the year is deeply disappointing, according to Social Democrats TD P\u00e1draig Rice. Deputy Rice, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on health, said: \u201cIn July of last year, the D\u00e1il passed the first AHR […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,642,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-padraig-rice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n