Supplementary legislation must ensure no family is left behind when it comes to assisted human reproduction, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson P\u00e1draig Rice.<\/p>\n
Deputy Rice, who today will launch a report on the matter as Chair of the Oireachtas Health Committee, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe journey towards robust legislation to regulate and support donor assisted human reproduction (DAHR) and surrogacy has been a long and winding one spanning over a quarter of a century – this has included the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction (2000), a special Joint Oireachtas Committee on International Surrogacy (2022) and a series of cases through our courts.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt times over the last 25 years progress has felt slow, at others sudden. What has developed during that time is a fragmented landscape, with significant gaps and barriers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 was a landmark and long-awaited piece of legislation – unfortunately, the legislation, which remains uncommenced, contains several gaps and leaves too many families behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proposed supplementary legislation that was the subject of our consideration must close these gaps and finally provide a workable framework for assisted human reproduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crucially important that supplementary legislation is as inclusive as possible, with a central focus on the rights of the child – in particular, the proposed legislation must facilitate ethical international DAHR and protect the rights of our citizens abroad.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also important that it recognises and vindicates the right to procreate and the right to private and family life – any interference with these rights by the State must be proportional and minimally invasive. Legislating in this area is complex, but not impossible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to thank the key stakeholders for their extensive engagement and constructive proposals. In particular, the LGBTQ+ Parenting Alliance (LGBT Ireland, Equality for Children and Irish Gay Dads) and Irish Families Through Surrogacy – both groups have carried out extensive and detailed analyses which have informed and shaped the recommendations of this report.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would also like to thank the officials from the Department of Health for their engagement on this issue, as well as to thank the Committee Secretariat for their ongoing support.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the 18 recommendations provided will be incorporated into the new Bill to ensure it meets the needs of everyone concerned. This includes a recommendation for surrogacy leave, which is a matter for the Department of Social Protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
October 8th, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Supplementary legislation must ensure no family is left behind when it comes to assisted human reproduction, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson P\u00e1draig Rice. Deputy Rice, who today will launch a report on the matter as Chair of the Oireachtas Health Committee, said: \u201cThe journey towards robust legislation to regulate and support donor assisted human […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12553,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,642,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-padraig-rice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n