S.I. No. 103/2026 - Circuit Court Rules (Donor-Assisted Human Reproduction) 2026

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 27th March, 2026.

We, the Circuit Court Rules Committee, by virtue of the powers conferred on us by section 66 of the Courts of Justice Act 1924 , section 70 of the Courts of Justice Act 1936 (as applied by section 48 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 ) and section 27 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 , with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, make the following Rules of Court.

Dated this 22nd day of October 2025.

I concur in the making of the above Rules of Court.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

23 March, 2026.

JIM O’CALLAGHAN,

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

1. (1) These Rules, which may be cited as the Circuit Court Rules (Donor-Assisted Human Reproduction) 2026, shall come into operation on the 20th day of April 2026.

(2) These Rules shall be construed together with the Circuit Court Rules 2001 to 2025.

(3) The Circuit Court Rules 2001 to 2025 as amended by these Rules may be cited as the Circuit Court Rules 2001 to 2026.

2. These Rules shall apply in proceedings commenced from the date on which these Rules come into operation.

3. The Circuit Court Rules are amended by the substitution for rule 27A of Order 59 of the following rule:

“27A. (1) A Family Law Civil Bill in which relief is sought under section 22 of the Children and Family Relationships Act shall include the following details:

(a) the address within the State where every party to the proceedings resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation;

(b) the date of birth of the child to whom section 20 of the said Act applies;

(c) the place of birth of the said child;

(d) the name and address of the person named as the mother of the child, and whether such person is or is not alive;

(e) the name and address of the “relevant person” (within the meaning of section 22(1) of the said Act) to whom the application relates, and whether such person is or is not alive;

(f) a brief statement of the grounds on which it is asserted that the child concerned is a child to whom section 20 of the said Act applies;

(g) a brief statement of the grounds on which it is asserted that the relevant person was, at the time referred to in section 20(1)(c) of the said Act, an intending parent of the child concerned; and

(h) where reliance is placed in the application on section 20(1)(g) of the said Act:

(i) a statement that the donor who provided a gamete that was used in the DAHR procedure was known to the mother of the child and the person referred to in section 20(1)(c) of the said Act, and the donor has consented to the making of the declaration concerned under section 22 of the said Act in the manner required by section 20(1)(g) and section 20(1)(h) of the said Act or, as the case may be,

(ii) a statement that the said donor is deceased or, as the case may be, cannot be located after reasonable efforts have been made to find him or her, and that an order is sought under section 20(1)(i) of the said Act waiving requirement of consent from the donor.

(2) Where rule 27A(1)(h) applies, there shall be filed with the Family Law Civil Bill the affidavit of the donor required by section 22(5A) of the said Act stating that he or she consents to the making of a declaration under section 22, and understands that, under the law of the State, he or she is not a parent of the child and has no parental rights or duties in respect of the child or, as the case may be, affidavit evidence verifying that the donor is deceased or, as the case may be, verifying the efforts made to find him or her.”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These rules update Order 59 Rule 27A to facilitate commencement of section 232(b), (c) and (d) of the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 which amends the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 by extending the court’s jurisdiction to make a declaration of parentage to cases where the procedure was carried out in a non-clinical setting and to cases where the donor is known and consents to the declaration, or is deceased, or cannot reasonably be located.