The Government has delayed commencing surrogacy laws amid concerns they could clash with an EU directive aimed at preventing human trafficking.

In April 2024, the EU expanded its directive against trafficking persons to include the “exploitation of surrogacy”. The Government is obliged by law to adhere to such directives.

EU nations such as France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Austria, Sweden, Norway and Spain had all banned surrogacy already. In Greece and the UK it is legal only if it is non-commercial, although in practice, thousands can still be earned by surrogate mothers under the cover of ‘reasonable expenses’.

Despite this, Ireland legalised the use of international commercial surrogacy in June 2024.

However, that law has not been put into operation by the Government, with Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill saying she cannot give a timeline as to when it will be commenced.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) said Ireland has an obligation to ensure its laws do not enable exploitative surrogacy and has raised concerns that Irish attempts to enable the use of international surrogacy could thwart other countries’ efforts to clamp down on commercial surrogacy and trafficking.

Rónán Mullen, an independent senator who opposed the surrogacy provisions last year, said that it “allows for the commissioning of poor women in poor countries to provide their babies to richer individuals, financially advantaged single people or couples here in Ireland,” he said.

“That can only be described as a form of modern-day trafficking and slavery.”