Working mothers could lose up to €2,700 per child under Government plans to tax maternity benefit for the first time. Under the current system, women do not have to pay any tax on the €6,812 of maternity benefit payments they get for six months after the birth of their child, the Irish Independent reports. ...
Intention not biology should determine parenthood, a fertility expert has said. Dr Mary Wingfield, founder of the Merrion Fertility Clinic, writing in the Irish Independent, said that she had “serious reservations” about the reasoning used by the High Court in deciding that the biological parents of twins born to a surrogate mother were the legal...
Professor Patricia Casey discusses surrogacy with barrister Inge Clissman on Today FM’s The Last Word with Matt Cooper. You can listen to the discussion here. The discussion begins after 16 minutes.
Surrogacy must be either banned or fully legalised in order to bring clarity to the situation, leading child law expert Geoffrey Shannon (pictured) has said. Speaking yesterday in the wake of yesterday’s High Court ruling that the biological mother of twins born to a surrogate is the legal mother, Mr Shannon, the State’s child rapporteur,...
An Irish man has won his High Court bid to be declared the father and guardian of a two-year-old girl born in India, under a surrogacy arrangement. The court also ruled that the child was entitled to an Irish passport. In a judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Henry Abbott outlined his reasons for granting the child’s...
The genetic mother of twins born to a surrogate has the right to be recognised as the legal mother, the High Court has ruled. The ruling means that the legal principle ‘the mother is always certain’ no longer applies in Irish law unless the Government chooses to introduce amending legislation. The genetic mother of the...
Campaigners are urging the Government to spend an additional €2bn a year to fund more childcare, and have suggested taking money from Child Benefit to pay for the scheme. Start Strong, a lobby group which advocates for childcare, together with Barnardos, the National Women’s Council and lone parent group One Family, made the call at...
A controversial taxpayer funded sex education programme in Scotland which promoted condom use among teenagers did not result in more usage, according to a new report in Scotland. Research from Edinburgh Napier University found that the NHS-run “Healthy Respect” scheme, which provided condoms to teenagers, did not increase their willingness to use them, the HeraldScotland...
A police chaplain in the UK has been forced out of his post after criticising the Government’s plans for same-sex marriage on his personal website, MPs have heard. Rev Brian Ross said he was summoned to a meeting with a senior officer and told that postings on his blog on the subject of marriage...
A police chaplain in the UK has been forced out of his post after criticising the Government’s plans for same-sex marriage on his personal website, MPs have heard. Rev Brian Ross said he was summoned to a meeting with a senior officer and told that postings on his blog on the subject of marriage...
