Breaking: Irish government speed up Ukraine exit for newborn surrogate babies

It comes as tension with Russia intensifies.

The Irish government have said that they plan to get newborn surrogate babies out of Ukraine as quickly as possible. As it stands they have put into motion plans for families with newborn surrogate babies to travel immediately from Ukraine. The news comes as tensions in the country between Russia and Ukraine are heightened. The campaign group, Irish Families Through Surrogacy, has thanked the Irish Government for all the work that they have done so far to protect surrogate babies from what has been described as "one of the worst security crises in Europe in decades". In a statement released yesterday, Irish Families Through Surrogacy said:

"The news that the exit process home for these families has been expedited is extremely welcome. We wish the families a safe journey home to Ireland. The group said it was also thinking of surrogate mothers in Ukraine and their families at this time of "great tension and anguish in Ukraine".

 

Our response to the news that arrangements have been made for Irish couples to travel immediately from Ukraine with their newborn babies born through surrogacy @dfatirl @simoncoveney @SeeryKearney @AnnetteHickey4 @TracyHoranSolrs @MichealMartinTD @LeoVaradkar pic.twitter.com/KyLsuPFujE

— Irish Families Through Surrogacy (@IrishFamiliesTS) February 20, 2022

Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said consular officials had been working intensively with Irish families and that a number of them were on their way home. In normal circumstances, registering the birth can take up to four weeks. However, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs has stepped in with temporary arrangements which will mean that parents do not have to travel to Kyiv for their newborn child's travel documents. The government advice for Irish people in Ukraine is to return home immediately and for other Irish citizens not to travel to Ukraine.