A High Court judge has said he is not convinced legislators appreciate the “true need for expedition” when dealing with the introduction of a law to recognise international surrogacy.

Mr Justice John Jordan said legislation to address legal lacunas arising from surrogacy arrangements was “flagged as necessary” by the Supreme Court as long ago as 2009, and again in 2014 that court said Irish legislation had failed to address deficits.

The Judge is presiding over a case of an Irish couple who used a surrogate in Ukraine in a commercial arrangement to bring their child to birth.

The case could be made moot if proposed Government legislation were to be passed into law. Last month the Judge expressed dissatisfaction that he heard about the legislation in media reports rather than in his court.

On Tuesday, the judge said he asked the State for its position on Monday, and there was no update available.

Senior Counsel Mary O’Toole, for Ireland and the Attorney General, said the State parties will “obviously” advise the court as soon as a decision has been made, but many of the matters discussed are subject to Cabinet confidentiality.

The court could not “effectively direct” the executive, she said, adding that there “may or may not be information to circulate” by next week.