More than 120 surrogate babies flown home to Ireland since 2010

More than 120 babies came to Ireland through surrogacy from India, Thailand and Ukraine since 2010 on Emergency Travel Certificates.

New figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs shows that 126 ETC were issued by the Passport Service since 2010 for Irish parents bringing babies home. The majority of those children are coming from India with 74 children having been brought to Ireland via surrogacy. The number of parents having babies through surrogacy was at its highest in 2015 when 32 children came home to Ireland.

“Since 2010 the Passport Service has approved some 126 ETCs to children born through surrogacy abroad,” a spokesperson said. “The Passport Service may issue an ETC to a child born abroad of a surrogacy arrangement where the commissioning adults intend the child to live with them in the State and where all other requirements including relating to citizenship and consent of the child’s legal guardians are met.”

In 2010, just three couples chose programmes in Ukraine, India and Thailand for surrogacy in comparison to the 25 couples who chose those programmes last year.