The Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority — An tÚdarás Rialála um Atáirgeadh Daonna Cuidithe — was formally established in October 2025. It matters, because the 2024 Act’s surrogacy scheme cannot function without it. It also is not, on its own, the thing families are waiting for.
What It Is and What It Will Do
The AHRRA is the statutory regulator created by the 2024 Act, brought into existence by a Government order appointing an establishment day — the formal step that makes a statutory body legally exist. Its broad remit covers the licensing and oversight of assisted human reproduction providers and of research, with the licensing framework meaning clinics and practitioners can expect application procedures, inspection regimes and reporting requirements. For surrogacy specifically, its role is more direct and more consequential for families: under the Act it is to operate the approval mechanism for surrogacy arrangements — assessing and approving proposed arrangements before treatment — and to establish and maintain the National Surrogacy Register. That pre-approval requirement is the structural centre of the domestic scheme. It is also the reason timing matters so much: once the relevant provisions are commenced, an arrangement entered into without prior approval will not qualify for the statutory route, however carefully and sincerely it was made.
Why Its Existence Is Not the Answer
Establishment is a precondition, not a completion. A body can exist, have a chief executive and a statutory remit, and still not be operating a live approval process for surrogacy — because the provisions conferring and governing that function have to be commenced, procedures made, and the surrounding machinery put in place. So the position families keep encountering is this: the regulator exists, and there is still nowhere to apply. Nor does the AHRRA’s existence do anything for past arrangements, which are the concern of most Irish surrogacy families and which are dealt with by Part 12 — a court process, not an AHRRA one. A family whose child was born five years ago will not be applying to the AHRRA for recognition; they will be applying to the Circuit Court for a parental order, once Part 12 is commenced and if they meet its conditions. The AHRRA matters enormously for anyone starting a domestic arrangement in future. It changes very little for anyone whose child is already here.
The practical takeaway for anyone planning: if you are considering a domestic arrangement, the pre-approval requirement is the single most important thing to understand, because it cannot be obtained retrospectively. Take advice before a clinic is engaged rather than after — that sequencing is the difference between an arrangement inside the scheme and one outside it.
Considering an arrangement and unsure how the approval requirement affects timing? 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.