Surrogacy in Ireland is not regulated by law. Therefore, many Irish couples who turn to surrogate motherhood must travel abroad to the United States, Canada, Ukraine, and other jurisdictions, where this method of assisted reproduction is considered legal. In jurisdictions where surrogacy is regulated and practised, the intended parents of children who have signed a formal surrogate maternity arrangement are recognized as legitimate parents. This rule ceases to apply as soon as they return home to Ireland, and all proposed versions of the Surrogacy Act do not appear to change this provision.
Surrogate pregnancy is a relatively expensive process, especially when it takes place overseas. Intended parents from Ireland face challenges when approaching this journey on their own. They find it time-consuming and complicated from a legal perspective. The resolution of these issues lacks additional costs. But the central part of the expenses is the clinic services and the IVF procedure, which require a shared load of money. Overall prices range from € 30 000 to 150,000 depending on the country.
In this case, the best solution is to address an international surrogate agency that provides prospective parents with support and full-spectrum assistance programs.
Commonly, agencies’ comprehensive packages include:
Such a surrogate agreement helps to bring down six-figure price tags to affordable prices.
In Ireland, a surrogate mother is considered the child’s legitimate mother as a person who has delivered it. The intended mother can never be recognized as the legitimate mother of her child under Irish law, even if she provided an egg used to form the embryo, which was implanted to a surrogate mother (SM).
Following the provisions of the Children and Family Relations Act 2015, a prospective mother may only be acknowledged by a court as the caretaker of her baby, at least two years after the child’s birth. Custody, however, is only a legal concept that provides for a person with parental responsibility for a child — it ends when one turns 18. In an international surrogacy scenario, the prospective father may be recognized as the parent and caretaker of the child born to the surrogate. Still, he must also be the genetic father.
Irish law seems to be procrastinating, taking a step towards the LGBT community only with the thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, allowing same-sex marriage to occur, and recognizing one as legal.
From the legal perspective, it is advised for a gay couple to engage the services of two women: the donor egg and a gestational carrier of the baby. Since following Irish laws, if the surrogate mother is biologically related to the child, she will be recognized as one’s legal mom for the government. But when splitting this link, the role of SM will be limited to a carrier. In this case, the prospective father may claim parental authority over the genetic connection to the child. This approach simplifies the surrogacy journey legally. However, the price tag is much higher. Unfortunately, this option available only for men; female gay couples are forced to seek solutions. In Ireland, a mother cannot be recognized by DNA evidence, notwithstanding whether her own egg was used.
It is another reason why intended parents turn to such countries as Colombia and Mexico, where the cost of medical and legal procedures is notably affordable and governmental attitude towards surrogacy is supportive.
Irish legal regulation makes the surrogacy journey complex for intended parents. Proponents of the legalization of surrogacy in Ireland insist on the prompt enactment of appropriate legislation, especially as surrogate motherhood is, in fact, practised in this country. Experts believe that legalizing such childbearing and laws would reduce the risk of criminal schemes and protect children born to surrogates and their biological parents from legal limbo.
