A striking number of Irish surrogacy families have done nothing legally since coming home, because they were told legislation was imminent. Some have now waited years, throughout which the second parent has held no legal status at all. Here is the list that does not require the Act.
The Six Things
One: establish who is actually a legal parent. Most families have never had this confirmed and assume more than the law provides — often because a foreign birth certificate or a passport created the impression that matters were settled. It takes one conversation and it is the foundation for everything else. Two: secure guardianship for the second parent as soon as the route is open. Guardianship gives a legal relationship, a voice in major decisions, and consent rights that matter for passports, medical treatment and school. The qualifying conditions are fact-specific, so the first step is establishing which route applies and from when — families frequently wait far longer than necessary simply because nobody told them the route existed. Three: make or remake wills, on both sides. This is the one item that cannot be repaired after the event, and it is dealt with fully on the inheritance page. A will leaving everything to “my children” without defining the term is a dangerous document in a family where one parent’s child is not their child in law.
And the Other Three
Four: sort consents, authorities and documentation. Medical treatment, school enrolment, travelling abroad with your own child — each of these can raise the question of who has authority, and having the right documents and knowing in advance what you will produce when asked makes an enormous practical difference to how those encounters go. Five: preserve the evidence a future application will need. The arrangement itself, evidence of the genetic position, birth documentation, evidence of residence — and above all the ability to contact your surrogate. A parental order under Part 12 proceeds on her consent given after the birth, so a family who cannot locate her has a serious problem on the day commencement finally arrives. Contact details go stale, people move, relationships lapse across years of waiting. Check that you can still reach her, and do it this month rather than then. Six: take tax advice on how the parentage position affects gift and inheritance treatment — that goes to your accountant and to Revenue’s guidance, before anything is signed rather than after a death.
The cost of waiting is not neutral. Every year without protection is a year in which a school enrolment, a hospital admission, a passport renewal or a death could occur with one parent holding no legal standing. Commencement, when it comes, will improve your position. It will not undo what happened while you were waiting for it.
Start with establishing where you actually stand: 01 5827148, or the free parentage checker.
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.