Two terms get used interchangeably and mean quite different things. A declaration of parentage confirms a parentage that already exists in law. A parental order transfers parentage from one person to another. Irish families can currently obtain the first and not the second.
What a Declaration Does
It is a court declaration that a person is, as a matter of fact and law, the parent of a child — a formal recognition of an existing state of affairs rather than the creation of a new one. In a surrogacy case it is typically used by a biological father to have his parentage recognised, and once recognised he can seek guardianship, giving him a say in major decisions and status that carries practically for medical consent, school and travel documentation. For a family, that is a genuinely important step and it is available now. Its limits, though, are absolute and follow from what it is. A declaration cannot create parentage where the law says none exists: it cannot make an intending mother the legal mother where she did not give birth, however clear the genetic link, and it cannot assist a second parent with no biological connection at all. Nor does it displace the surrogate as legal mother. It recognises one relationship. It rearranges nothing.
What a Parental Order Would Do
Something categorically different: transfer legal parentage, so that the child becomes the child of the intending parents named in the order and the surrogate ceases to hold parental rights and duties. That is the recognition families are seeking, and it is what Part 12 of the 2024 Act would provide for past domestic and international arrangements — subject to conditions including residence requirements and a genetic link to at least one intending parent. It is not available until Part 12 is commenced. Two features of the eventual process are worth knowing now, because they affect what you should do today. It is a court application, requiring evidence — so keeping documentation of the arrangement, the genetic position, the birth, and residence matters. And it proceeds on the surrogate’s consent given after the birth, which is a deliberate protection and a practical constraint: the application depends on being able to locate and contact her. For families whose arrangements were years ago, checking that you can still reach your surrogate is genuinely urgent, and considerably easier now than on the day a commencement order is announced.
Do both in sequence: take the declaration and guardianship that are available today, because they improve your position now and are entirely compatible with a parental order later. Nothing about seeking them prejudices a future application.
Establishing what each parent can obtain now: 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.