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More than 80 children were born abroad as a result of surrogacy arrangements for Irish parents since 2011, according to a report in the Medical Independent (MI).
The figures were determined through requests for emergency travel documents, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Of the 84 babies in question, 63 were born in India, 17 came from Ukraine, and four were born in Thailand.
In late 2015, Indian authorities instructed clinics to stop accepting overseas clients for commercial surrogacy services.
MI reports the Department of Health’s chief bioethics officer, Dr Siobhán O’Sullivan, travelled to India for a study visit in July 2015, along with colleagues from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The visit was described in correspondence between Health Minister Leo Varadkar and Children’s Minister James Reilly in September 2015. In the letter, obtained under Freedom of Information legislation, Mr Varadkar said the study visit would be useful “in light of the proposed legislative changes [in Ireland]”.
Currently, there is no legislation in Ireland governing assisted human reproduction, (AHR) just guidelines published in 2012.
According to...