Be cautious of anyone who ranks countries for you. This page will not tell you where to go, and a firm that does — particularly one with relationships to agencies or clinics in the places it recommends — is telling you something about its own interests rather than about your position.
What Irish Advice Can Actually Cover
An Irish solicitor advises on Irish law, and in an international arrangement that is a specific and important slice: what will be recognised here, who will be a legal parent here, what documentation your child will need to travel and to live here, and what the succession consequences will be. Those questions are answerable regardless of jurisdiction, and they are the ones most often answered last. The questions an Irish solicitor cannot answer are equally clear: whether a given arrangement is lawful in another country, what protections a surrogate has under that country’s law, what a local court order means locally, or whether a particular clinic or agency is sound. Those require lawyers there. So the useful framing when weighing options is: what would the Irish consequences of this route be? Would there be a genetic link, and to whom — because that runs through citizenship, through what each parent can establish here, and through the conditions in the 2024 Act. How would payments be structured, given that the Act is built on the prohibition of commercial surrogacy. What documents would be obtainable locally, and would they support an Irish citizenship and travel application. And what would the position be if commencement happened mid-journey.
The Questions Worth Asking Yourself
Beyond the legal analysis, some questions are worth sitting with honestly, because they are the ones families report mattering most in hindsight. What protections does the surrogate have under that country’s law, and is she independently advised and genuinely free to change her mind? That is not only an ethical question; an arrangement in which a surrogate is poorly protected is also a less stable arrangement. Will you be able to maintain contact with her afterwards — which matters practically, because a parental order will depend on her consent, and matters to your child, who may one day want to know her. What will your child be able to find out about their origins? Anonymous donation abroad may leave them without access to information Irish policy treats as significant. How long will you realistically be there after the birth, and can you actually sustain that? Those are not legal questions and no solicitor should pretend to answer them for you — but they are the ones that determine whether a journey is one families look back on well.
This firm has no relationship with any clinic, agency or intermediary anywhere, recommends none, receives no payment or referral fee from any, and does not match or introduce anyone. That is stated not as a virtue but so you know what kind of advice you are getting: advice about Irish law, with nothing riding on which route you choose.
Weighing options and want the Irish consequences set out? 01 5827148.
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
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.