Irish policy in this area rests on a proposition worth stating plainly: a child’s interest in knowing their genetic origins is significant. That is why registers exist, why anonymous donation is not the model Irish law favours, and why treatment abroad can quietly close a door on behalf of someone who has no say in it.
The Registers, and What They Are For
The framework contemplates records enabling a donor-conceived person to access information about their origins — a National Donor-Conceived Person Register under the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 framework, and a National Surrogacy Register under the 2024 Act. The policy underlying both is identical: that a person conceived through donation or born through surrogacy may, at some point in their life, want to know where they came from, and that the system should not have made that impossible on their behalf before they were old enough to have a view. It is not a fringe concern. Donor-conceived adults have consistently and articulately made the case, and cheap consumer DNA testing has in any event made anonymity increasingly notional — a child who wants to find a genetic relative today has tools that did not exist when their parents made the decision. The practical implication is uncomfortable but useful: treatment abroad using an anonymous donor may leave your child without access to information they may later want, and without any realistic route to it. That is a decision worth taking consciously rather than as a by-product of choosing a clinic.
The Conversation, and the Records
Two things follow, and neither is legal advice so much as accumulated experience. Tell them early. The settled view across research and practice is that children told about their origins from the beginning — before it is a revelation, when it is simply part of their story — do markedly better than those who find out later, and considerably better than those who discover it accidentally, which in the DNA-testing era is a real risk rather than a theoretical one. There is no version of this that improves by being postponed. Keep the records. Clinic documentation, dates, donor information where any exists, details of the treatment and where it took place. Clinics abroad do not keep files indefinitely, some close, and information that is retrievable now may not be in fifteen years. Those records also matter legally: a future application to have parentage declared may depend on exactly this documentation, particularly for families whose treatment took place abroad and who fall into the gap the amending legislation is intended to close.
The same applies in surrogacy. Maintaining contact with your surrogate serves your child’s interest in knowing their own story, and separately serves a practical purpose — a parental order will depend on her consent. Both reasons point the same way.
Questions about parentage where treatment was abroad? 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.