Overview
- Children born to same‑sex female couples through donor conception abroad often have only one legally recognised parent under current Irish rules.
- The Department of Health says issues identified during the Oireachtas process halted commencement of the 2024 law and an amending bill is at an advanced drafting stage.
- An Oireachtas Health Committee report urges a clear mechanism to recognise second parents in international donor‑assisted cases.
- Parents report practical harms, including limits on medical consent and school enrollment, and warn a child could be legally orphaned if the registered parent died.
- A 2020 retrospective provision recognised some earlier births but excludes many children conceived abroad, and same‑sex couples remain outside the HSE’s free fertility scheme, driving treatment overseas.