‘Unavoidable’ that Irish couples will continue using international surrogacy services

Conor O’Mahony says it is ‘imperative’ that legislation gives a route to full legal parentage for those who use international surrogacy arrangements

Conor O’Mahony, the special rapporteur for child protection, will call it ‘unsustainable’ to allow legal ambiguity in cases where Irish families enter into surrogacy arrangements overseas. Picture: Derek Speirs

Families who opt for international surrogacy are being left in a “legal twilight zone” due to the lack of legislation regulating the practice, according to the special rapporteur on child protection.

Conor O’Mahony, a senior lecturer in law at University College Cork (UCC), will today tell politicians there will always be families who opt for international surrogacy options even if the government starts regulating domestic arrangements.

O’Mahony, whose report on surrogacy was published last April, ...