100 signatures reached
To: The Irish government - Minister for Heath, Minister for Justice and Minister for Children
Make Marriage Equality A Reality - 10 Years On
It has been 10 years since the historic passing of Marriage Equality in May 2015, and yet, 10 years on in 2025, the LGBTQ+ community of Ireland do not truly have equal marriages.
The majority of children born to LGBTQ+ parents in Ireland are left in an uncertain legal position without any functioning legal framework to establish a legal parent-child relationship with both of their parents.
As well as the emotional impact of not having your family recognised as such, there are many practical impacts for the children of these families in areas such as; birth registration, citizenship provisions, childcare and/or educational provisions, access to social welfare, succession/inheritance rights etc.
The majority of children born to LGBTQ+ parents in Ireland are left in an uncertain legal position without any functioning legal framework to establish a legal parent-child relationship with both of their parents.
As well as the emotional impact of not having your family recognised as such, there are many practical impacts for the children of these families in areas such as; birth registration, citizenship provisions, childcare and/or educational provisions, access to social welfare, succession/inheritance rights etc.
Why is this important?
Equality for Children, Irish Gay Dads and LGBT Ireland are calling on the Irish Government to immediately amend and commence the AHR Act, as was promised by their predecessors, and to immediately commence the CFRA (2015) section of the AHR Act, to ensure that all children born through Assisted and Donor Reproduction to LGBTQ+ families in Ireland, have a pathway to a legal connection with both of their parents.
We urge you to sign our petition in order to push the Irish government to take the actions our children so desperately need.
Ranae von Meding, CEO of Equality for Children says, “Thousands of children in Ireland, including my youngest child, are denied legal parent-child relationship with both of their parents. This includes children born to gay dads through surrogacy, children conceived outside of clinical settings and children conceived or born outside of Ireland. As we celebrate 10 years of Marriage Equality, we cannot help but reflect on the fact that we have not truly achieved equality until children born into same-sex marriages in Ireland are afforded the same protections as children born into all other marriages in Ireland."
“This must change. It’s not equal and it’s not what we voted for.”
Seamus Kearney Martone, Chairperson of Irish Gay Dads says, "As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the marriage equality referendum, we celebrate how far Ireland has come—but we also recognize the work that remains. For gay dads in Ireland, the journey to parenthood is still filled with legal and practical barriers. We urge the government to amend and commence the Assisted Human Reproduction legislation without further delay. We’ve had positive discussions with the Departments of Health, Justice, and Children, and now that a new government has been formed we are committed to continuing these conversations to ensure that the voices of gay dads are heard and included in shaping this legislation. "
"Equality must extend to all families, and now is the time to make that a reality."