2026-01-22

15. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Health for an update on the Assisted Human Reproduction Act 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4878/26]

I assure the Deputy that much progress has been made on the path to providing the necessary oversight and regulation of assisted human reproduction. The Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act was signed into law by the President in July 2024. Some administrative sections of the Act have been commenced, specifically to establish the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority, or AHRRA. In addition, work is under way to commence section 232 of the Act. This will result in the parentage of some donor-conceived children not covered currently by the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 being recognised. There is a small outstanding piece of work to do on timing and the statutory instrument with completing the rules of the court. I had hoped that could be done before Christmas, but I expect it to be done very shortly. However, there is a timing issue there as between the rules of the court and the statutory instrument. When the 2024 Act, more broadly, was progressing through the Houses of Oireachtas, issues were identified which required further consideration and consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and there is an amendment bill at the advanced stage of drafting. It is a complex area, involving delicate balance of human rights and we have to get it right. For practical and legal reasons, the Act can only be fully commenced when the operational authority is in place. We have a board and recruitment for the CEO is well progressed. I look forward to the Deputy’s input to the Bill when we are debating it. Together, we are going to need make sure we are achieving the best opportunity for families of all kinds to avail of assisted human reproduction, as well as protecting all the human rights of all the third parties who may be involved in that, recognising that many of those third parties may not be our citizens. We have an obligation to look beyond and outside at everybody’s human rights as well as ours.