The Act Is Passed. It Is Not Commenced.

Those are different things — and the gap between them is where your family currently lives. Irish surrogacy and parentage law, explained plainly: who is a legal parent today, what you can put in place now, and what changes when the law finally moves.

📞 01 5827148Who Is a Legal Parent? →

45+

Years, Established 1981

TEP

Trust & Estate Practitioner

International

& Domestic Arrangements

Fees Agreed

in Writing at the Outset

Position stated as at 31 July 2026. The principal surrogacy provisions of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 were not commenced at that date. Commencement changes this position materially and can happen at short notice — confirm the current status before acting on anything here.

Your Child Is Home. Legally, Only One of You Is a Parent.

That is the position a great many Irish families are living in: the woman who gave birth remains the legal mother under Irish law, the biological father can establish his status, and the second parent has no automatic standing at all. It reaches into medical consent, school forms, travel, and — the one almost nobody plans for — inheritance. None of it waits for the Act to be commenced, and most of it can be substantially improved right now.

What the Gap Does to Inheritance →

Where the Questions Actually Arise

Twelve areas, each written as a proper guide rather than a brochure page — because the people searching these questions are usually making decisions that are hard to reverse.

Surrogacy Law in Ireland

The complete picture: what applies today, what the 2024 Act will change, and the gap between the two.

The 2024 Act & Commencement

What is in force, what is not, what the AHRRA does, and what the amending Bill is expected to fix.

International Surrogacy

The route most Irish families take: the two-jurisdiction problem, and what a foreign birth certificate does and does not achieve here.

Domestic Surrogacy

Altruistic only, unenforceable agreements, and why domestic arrangements remain rare in practice.

Parental Orders & Declarations

What a declaration of parentage can do now, and what the parental order under Part 12 will do when commenced.

Guardianship for the Second Parent

The current workaround, what it actually confers, its limits - and why it is not the same as being a parent.

Citizenship, Passports & Travel Home

The practical crisis point: emergency travel certificates, documentation, and the weeks nobody warns you about.

Birth Registration & Legal Motherhood

Why the woman who gives birth is the legal mother here, whatever the genetics or the paperwork say.

Agreements & Independent Advice

Not enforceable in Ireland - and still worth doing properly, with separate advice on each side.

Donor Conception & DAHR

Donor-conceived children, registers, parentage under the 2015 Act, and where the gaps remain.

Same-Sex Couples

Where the parentage gap bites hardest, and what two-father and two-mother families can do now.

Wills & Inheritance

The consequence almost nobody plans for: what the parentage gap does to succession, and how to plan around it today.

A Legal Practice, Not an Agency

This firm advises on Irish law. It does not match, introduce or recruit surrogates or intending parents, does not advertise on anyone’s behalf, does not recommend clinics or agencies or take any payment from them, and plays no part in arranging any payment beyond its own fees. That distinction matters legally — the 2024 Act is built on the prohibition of commercial surrogacy — and it matters practically: what you need from a solicitor is candid advice about your position, including the parts you would rather not hear. Where another country is involved, you will need lawyers there too, and that is not a formality.

Two Different Conversations

If you are considering surrogacy, the useful work happens early — before money is committed, before a clinic or jurisdiction is chosen, and before anything is signed. What each route means under Irish law as it currently stands, what will and will not be recognised here, what the genetic-link requirement means for the Act when it commences, and which decisions taken now are difficult to unwind later. If your child is already born, the priorities are different and more immediate: establishing who is a legal parent today, securing whatever status is available, getting documentation and travel right, and putting wills, consents and authorities in place so that the gap in the law does not cause avoidable harm while it persists. Most families in the second group have been told to wait for the Act. Waiting is not a plan, and a good deal can be done that does not depend on commencement at all.

Considering surrogacy: the route check →   Child already born: the parentage checker →

Advising Families Across Ireland

DublinCorkGalwayLimerickWaterfordKilkennyLeinsterMunsterNationwide & Online

Richard O’Shea — Solicitor & TEP

Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors (established 1981) and a TEP of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. The firm advises on the legal position of families formed through surrogacy and assisted reproduction — parentage, guardianship, birth registration, travel documentation, and the succession and estate planning consequences that the current gap in the law creates. This is a legal practice: it is not an agency, does not match or introduce surrogates, and takes no part in any commercial arrangement. Consultations by telephone, video or in person. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn

Surrogacy Law in Ireland - FAQs

It is neither expressly legal nor expressly prohibited, which is an uncomfortable answer and an accurate one. Surrogacy has not been criminalised, and families are formed this way every year. What has been missing is a legal framework - and the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024, signed into law in July 2024, was intended to supply it. The difficulty is that its principal surrogacy provisions have not been commenced, so the process the Act describes is not yet a process anyone can use. That means the position that actually governs your family today is the pre-Act position: the woman who gives birth is the legal mother, a surrogacy agreement is not enforceable, and the routes available are declarations of parentage and guardianship rather than parental orders.

General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about Irish law relating to surrogacy and assisted human reproduction. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every family’s position turns on its own facts, and advice on yours requires a consultation.

The law is changing and this page has a date. The position described across this site is stated as at 31 July 2026. The principal surrogacy provisions of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 were not commenced at that date. Commencement orders can be made at short notice and will alter this position materially. Confirm the current position before acting.

This is a legal practice, not an agency. Mary Molloy Solicitors provides legal advice and representation. It does not operate as a surrogacy agency, does not match, introduce or recruit surrogates or intending parents, does not advertise for or on behalf of any surrogate, does not recommend or receive any payment from any clinic, agency or intermediary, and takes no part in arranging or facilitating any payment beyond the provision of legal services. Nothing on this site is an offer or invitation to enter any commercial surrogacy arrangement.

Foreign law and medical matters. Where an arrangement involves another jurisdiction, the law of that jurisdiction applies to what happens there and independent legal advice must be taken locally — nothing here states or implies that any arrangement is lawful or unlawful in any other country. Nothing on this site is medical advice, and questions about treatment, suitability or risk are for your treating clinicians.

Fees. Fees are agreed in writing with the client at the outset. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

Tax. Nothing on this website is tax advice. Where parentage affects succession, gift or inheritance treatment, those questions belong with your accountant or tax adviser and with Revenue’s own guidance, and should be addressed before any step is taken.