Children and Family Relationships Act 2015

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1.. Short title, collective citations and commencement

1.(1) This Act may be cited as the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.

(2) Part 9 and the Civil Registration Acts 2004 to 2014 may be cited together as the Civil Registration Acts 2004 to 2015.

(3) Part 11 and the Adoption Acts 2010 to 2013 may be cited together as the Adoption Acts 2010 to 2015.

(4) Section 175 and the Child Care Acts 1991 to 2013 may be cited together as the Child Care Acts 1991 to 2015.

(5) This Act, subject to subsections (6) to (9), shall come into operation on the day or days that the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(6) Parts 2 and 3 shall come into operation on the day or days that the Minister for Health may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

F1[(7)Part 9shall come into operation 54 months from enactment or on such earlier day or days as the Minister may, after consulting with the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision of that Part and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.]

(8) Part 10 shall come into operation on the day or days that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(9) Part 11 shall come into operation on the day or days that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

2.. Interpretation

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1964” means the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964;

“Act of 1965” means the Succession Act 1965;

“Act of 1976” means the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976;

“Act of 1987” means the Status of Children Act 1987;

“Act of 1995” means the Family Law Act 1995;

“Act of 2004” means the Civil Registration Act 2004;

“Act of 2010” means the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010;

“Minister”, other than in Parts 2 and 3, means the Minister for Justice and Equality.

3.. Expenses

3. The expenses incurred by the Minister or any other Minister of the Government in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 Parentage in Cases of Donor-Assisted Human Reproduction

4.. Interpretation (Parts 2 and 3)

4. In this Part and Part 3 —

“birth certificate” means a document issued under section 13(4) of the Act of 2004 in respect of an entry in the register of births;

“civil partner” shall be construed in accordance with section 3 of the Act of 2010;

“cohabitant” shall be construed in accordance with section 172(1) of the Act of 2010;

“DAHR facility” means a place at which a DAHR procedure is performed;

“DAHR procedure” means a donor-assisted human reproduction procedure, being any procedure performed in the State with the objective of it resulting in the implantation of an embryo in the womb of the woman on whose request the procedure is performed, where—

(a) one of the gametes from which the embryo has been or will be formed has been provided by a donor,

(b) each gamete from which the embryo has been or will be formed has been provided by a donor, or

(c) the embryo has been provided by a donor;

“donation facility” means a place at which a person provides and donates his or her gamete, and includes a DAHR facility;

“donor”—

(a) in relation to a gamete, means—

(i) a person who has consented, under section 6 or in the manner referred to in section 26(1)(b)(ii), to the use in a DAHR procedure of a gamete provided by him or her, or

(ii) the donor of a gamete to which F2[section 26(5)] applies,

and includes a donor of a gamete that is used in the formation of an embryo that is used in a further DAHR procedure, and

(b) in relation to an embryo, means—

(i) a person who has consented under section 14 or 16 or in the manner referred to in section 26(2)(b)(ii), to the use of the embryo in a DAHR procedure or a further DAHR procedure, or

(ii) the donor of an embryo to which section 26(6) applies;

“donor-conceived child” means—

(a) a child born in the State, after the commencement of this section, as a result of a DAHR procedure, or

(b) other than in sections 33 to 39, a child in respect of whom a person has been declared under section 21 or 22 to be his or her parent;

“embryo” means a human embryo formed by the fertilisation of a human egg by a human sperm;

“enactment” means a statute or an instrument made under a power conferred by statute;

“further DAHR procedure” has the meaning it has in section 16;

“gamete” means—

(a) a human sperm, which is formed in the body of and provided by a man, or

(b) a human egg, which is formed in the body of and provided by a woman;

“intending mother” means, in relation to a DAHR procedure, a woman who requests the performance of the procedure for the purpose of her becoming the mother of a child born as a result of the procedure;

“intending parent” means, in relation to a DAHR procedure, a person who intends to be the parent, under section 5, of a child born as a result of the procedure, and includes an intending mother;

“Minister” means the Minister for Health;

“mother” means, in relation to a child, the woman who gives birth to the child;

“operator” means, in relation to a DAHR facility, the person who owns or manages the facility or is otherwise responsible for the running of the facility;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under section 41;

“Register” means the register established under section 33;

“registered medical practitioner” means a person who is a registered medical practitioner within the meaning of section 2 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;

F3[“registered midwife”means a person whose name is entered for the time being in the midwives division of the register of nurses and midwives established under section 46 of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011;]

“registered nurse” means a person whose name is entered for the time being in the nurses division of the register of nurses and midwives established under section 46 of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011;

“relevant donor” means, in relation to a donor-conceived child—

(a) subject to paragraph (b), the donor of a gamete that was used in the DAHR procedure that resulted in the birth of the donor-conceived child, and

(b) in the case of a donor-conceived child who is born as a result of a DAHR procedure or a further DAHR procedure in which a donated embryo was used—

(i) a donor of the embryo who provided a gamete that was used in the formation of the embryo, and

(ii) where applicable, the donor of a gamete that was used in the formation of the embryo.

5.. Parentage of child born as a result of DAHR procedure

5. (1) The parents of a donor-conceived child who is born as a result of a DAHR procedure to which subsection (8) applies are—

(a) the mother, and

(b) the F4[spouse], civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of the mother.

(2) Where a donor-conceived child is born as a result of a DAHR procedure, other than a DAHR procedure to which subsection (8) applies, the mother alone shall be the parent of that child.

(3) Where a person is, under subsection (1) or (2), the parent of a child, he or she shall have all parental rights and duties in respect of the child.

(4) In deducing any relationship for the purposes of any enactment, the relationship between every donor-conceived child and his or her parent or parents shall be determined in accordance with this section and all other relationships shall be determined accordingly.

(5) A donor of a gamete that is used in a DAHR procedure—

(a) is not the parent of a child born as a result of that procedure, and

(b) has no parental rights or duties in respect of the child.

(6) A donor of an embryo that is used in a DAHR procedure—

(a) is not the parent of a child born as a result of that procedure, and

(b) has no parental rights or duties in respect of the child.

(7) On and after the coming into operation of this section, a reference in any enactment to—

(a) a mother or parent of a child shall be construed as not including a woman who is the donor of a gamete or embryo that was used in a DAHR procedure that resulted in the birth of the child, and

(b) a father or parent of a child shall be construed as not including a man who is the donor of a gamete or embryo that was used in a DAHR procedure that resulted in the birth of the child.

(8) This subsection applies to a DAHR procedure in relation to which—

(a) the intending mother has consented under section 9 to the parentage under subsection (1) of the child born as a result of the procedure, where her declaration under section 9(1)(c) includes a statement referred to in section 9(3)(d) in respect of her F4[spouse], civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, and

(b) the F4[spouse], civil partner or cohabitant of the intending mother referred to in paragraph (a) has consented under section 11 to the parentage under subsection (1) of the child referred to in that paragraph.

6.. Consent to use of gamete in DAHR procedure

6.(1) A person consents under this section to the use in a DAHR procedure of a gamete provided by him or her where he or she—

(a) has attained the age of 18 years,

(b) has received the information referred to in section 7, and

(c) makes a declaration in accordance with subsections (2) and (3).

(2) A declaration under subsection (1)(c) shall be made before the donation is made, and shall be in writing, dated, and signed by the person in the presence of a person authorised in that behalf by the operator of the donation facility where the gamete is provided.

(3) A declaration under subsection (1)(c) shall be in such form as may be prescribed and shall include the following statements:

(a) that the person has received the information referred to in section 7;

(b) subject to subsection (4), that the person consents to the use in a DAHR procedure of the gamete provided by him or her;

(c) that, in the event that the gamete is used in a procedure referred to in paragraph (b), the person consents to the provision to the Minister of the information referred to in section 28(3)(a) in respect of him or her;

(d) that the person is aware that he or she shall not be the parent of any child born as a result of a procedure referred to in paragraph (b);

(e) that, in the event that a child is born as a result of a procedure referred to in paragraph (b), the person—

(i) consents to the recording on the Register of the information specified in section 33(3)(d) in respect of the person, and

(ii) understands that the child may, in accordance with section 35, access the information referred to in sub paragraph (i) and seek to contact him or her.

(4) In making a statement referred to in subsection (3)(b), a person may state that his or her consent is restricted to the use of the gamete in a DAHR procedure performed on the request of—

(a) the intending mother specified in the statement, where the DAHR procedure concerned is one to which section 25(3)(b)(i) applies, or

(b) the intending parents specified in the statement, where the DAHR procedure concerned is one to which section 25(3)(b)(ii) applies.

(5) A person’s consent under this section to the use of his or her gamete in a DAHR procedure may not be restricted other than as provided for in subsection (4).

7.. Information to be provided for purposes of section 6

7. The operator of a donation facility shall, before a person makes a declaration under section 6(1)(c), inform him or her—

(a) that, in the event that he or she consents under section 6 to the use in a DAHR procedure of a gamete provided by him or her—

(i) he or she is entitled to seek the information referred to in section 34(2), and

(ii) where such a DAHR procedure is performed, he or she consents to the provision to the Minister of the information referred to in section 28(3)(a) in respect of him or her,

(b) that, in the event that a child is born as a result of the procedure referred to in paragraph (a)—

(i) he or she shall not be the parent of that child,

(ii) the information specified in section 33(3)(d) in relation to him or her shall be recorded on the Register,

(iii) the child may, in accordance with section 35, access the information referred to in subparagraph (ii) and seek to contact him or her,

(iv) the person’s entitlement to obtain information recorded on the Register is subject to section 36 and is otherwise restricted to the information referred to in section 34(2), and

(v) having regard to the child’s right to his or her identity, it is desirable that he or she keep updated, in accordance with section 38(1), the information in relation to him or her that is recorded on the Register,

and

(c) of his or her right under section 8, in the event that he or she consents under section 6 to the use of his or her gamete in a DAHR procedure, to revoke that consent.

8.. Revocation of consent given under section 6

8. (1) Subject to this section, a donor of a gamete may, by notice in writing to the operator of the donation facility to which his or her declaration under section 6(1)(c) was made, revoke his or her consent under that section.

(2) A revocation of consent under subsection (1) shall have no effect in respect of a gamete to which the consent relates that has been used at a DAHR facility in the formation of an embryo before the date on which the notice under that subsection is received by the operator of the DAHR facility concerned.

9.. Consent of intending mother

9. (1) An intending mother consents under this section to the parentage, under subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, of section 5 of a child born to her as a result of a DAHR procedure where, before that procedure is performed, she—

(a) has attained the age of 21 years,

(b) has received the information referred to in section 13, and

(c) makes a declaration in accordance with subsections (2) and (3).

(2) A declaration under subsection (1)(c) shall be made before the DAHR procedure is performed and shall be in writing, dated, and signed by the intending mother in the presence of a person authorised in that behalf by the operator of the DAHR facility where the DAHR procedure is to be performed.

(3) A declaration under subsection (1)(c) shall be in such form as may be prescribed and shall include the following statements:

(a) that the intending mother has received the information referred to in section 13;

(b) that, in the event that a DAHR procedure is performed, the intending mother—

(i) consents to the provision to the Minister of the information referred to in section 28(3)(b) in respect of her, and

(ii) agrees to comply with her obligations under section 27;

(c) that the intending mother is aware that—

(i) the donor of a gamete or embryo used in the DAHR procedure shall not be the parent of any child born as a result of that procedure, and

(ii) she shall be the mother of such a child;

(d) where applicable, that the intending mother consents to her F5[spouse], civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, being the parent under section 5(1)(b) of any child born as a result of the DAHR procedure;

(e) that, in the event that a child is born as a result of the DAHR procedure, the intending mother—

(i) consents to the recording on the Register of the information specified in section 33(3)(c) in respect of her,

(ii) consents to the recording on the Register of the information specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 33(3) in respect of the child, and

(iii) understands that the child may, in accordance with section 35, access the information specified in section 33(3)(d) in respect of a person who is, in relation to the child, a relevant donor and seek to contact him or her.

10.. Revocation of consent given under section 9

10.(1) Subject to this section, an intending mother may, by notice in writing to the operator of the DAHR facility to which her declaration under section 9(1)(c) was made, revoke her consent under that section.

(2) A revocation of consent under subsection (1) shall have no effect in respect of a DAHR procedure to which the consent relates that has been performed before the notice under that subsection is received by the operator of the DAHR facility at which the procedure was performed.

11.. Consent of husband, civil partner or cohabitant of intending mother

11. (1) A person, being the F6[spouse], civil partner or cohabitant of the intending mother concerned, consents under this section to be the parent, under section 5(1)(b), of a child born as a result of a DAHR procedure where, before that procedure is performed—

(a) the person has attained the age of 21 years,

(b) the intending mother has consented under section 9 to a DAHR procedure, and her declaration under section 9(1)(c) includes a statement referred to in section 9(3)(d) in respect of the person,

(c) the person has received the information referred to in section 13, and

(d) the person makes a declaration in accordance with subsections (2) and (3).