The Cabinet has approved comprehensive surrogacy legislation that includes a broad facilitation of commercial arrangements abroad that will remain illegal at home. Most countries ban commercial surrogacy on the grounds that it exploits low income women and commodifies children.

This includes granting legal parenthood to non-biological guardians of babies born to surrogates.

The Assisted Human Reproduction Bill, which passed the second stage in the Dáil last year, was paused to allow changes around the regulation of international surrogacy agreements.

Having now been approved by Cabinet, the amendments will be referred to the Oireachtas Committee on Health for committee stage and the process is likely to begin in January.

Under the legislation, Ireland would become the first State in the world to have a special legislative regime to facilitate international surrogacy.

It would mean that prospective international surrogacy arrangements would be pre-approved by a new authority/regulator and that a post-birth Circuit Court process would grant a parental order.

For retrospective surrogacies, the High Court may grant a parental order on the basis of a number of criteria being met, including a determination by the court that it is in the best interests of the child.