An Oireachtas committee has called for a change in law to facilitate international surrogacy arrangements including a regime of ‘compensated surrogacy’ for women who carry a child to birth on behalf of others. In practice, this can run to thousands of euro and is often little different from commercial surrogacy.

The Special Committee on International Surrogacy released its report yesterday following three months of hearings. Almost all the experts it heard from were in favour of the practice despite the fact that almost no European country recognises it.

Among the recommended, it supported a form of commercial surrogacy whereby the surrogate mother could be “compensated” for legal advice, counselling and medical advice; loss of earnings due to not working; specific dietary requirements or supplements; and payments to cover domestic labour such as housework or childcare (pages 31—32).

Surrogacy agencies and fertility clinics can also be paid for their “professional services”.

One committee member, Independent Senator Sharon Keogan, objected to the conclusions, saying that surrogacy is “harmful” and “exploitative”, and the report “unbalanced”. She said potential witnesses with dissenting views were excluded from hearings.

In a statement, Ms Keogan said there is a power imbalance between the “commissioning parent and the surrogate”.