Are we ready for the issue of same-sex parenting? Politicians and others voiced their opinions on the issue earlier this month, after an Irish gay couple arrived home from California with their six-week-old triplets, two boys and a girl. The couple met the surrogate mother through a Californian in vitro fertilisation agency. Given the manner in which their story broke in some of the tabloid newspapers, the question might more properly be: are same-sex parents ready to face the media and public opinion?
Unlike Tony Barlow and Barrie Drewitt, the British gay couple who garnered vast amounts of publicity for the twins they'd fathered through a US surrogate mother, the Irish couple had no intention of going public with their story.
Acting on a tip-off from a member of the public, garda∅ called to the couple's home shortly after their arrival from the US, to check the validity of the children's papers. The authorities are satisfied the babies were brought into the Republic legally.
But then the tabloids swooped. The media were probably the last thing on the new family's minds as they bonded with each other. But the couple's refusal to speak to the press and their endeavours to protect the children's privacy augurs well for their welfare, as well as the couple's commitment to parenting.
Dr Mary Henry, the independent senator, and Gay Mitchell TD have both spoken publicly on the issue. Mitchell believes the couple's sexuality is not his "immediate concern", but says the issue "deserves reflection and calm consideration".
Dr Deirdre Madden, a law lecturer at University College Cork, says: "If this were a straight couple, we'd concentrate more on surrogacy and not the sexuality of the parents."
Her opinion is shared by Kieran Rose, co-chairman of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network. He predicts the public will support the couple. "It doesn't matter about the sexual orientation. It's the quality of the parenting and their relationship with the children that count," she says.
While the couple set about the daunting task of coping with three babies, the Republic is faced with an array of legal, ethical and social issues.
"It would be difficult to comment on the legal relationship of these particular parents without seeing the actual documentation drawn up between the parties involved," says Madden.
California has an unusual approach to surrogacy. Unlike other US states, it regards as binding the contract drawn up between the surrogate mother and the commissioning couple. "Whoever is described as parents in the document would in law be seen as parents," says Madden. This is why couples choose California for surrogacy.
The validity of the Irish couple's legal standing as parents remains a complicated jurisdictional problem. The State will have to decide if Californian law is valid here, a situation akin to the legal issues surrounding foreign adoptions. "The man who donated sperm, as the natural father of the triplets concerned, should apply for guardianship in this country," advises Madden.
His partner cannot have any legal relationship with the children in this jurisdiction, however, unlike in California, where his legal rights as a parent would be recognised.
The ability of science to intervene in, control or even alter the natural process of the creation of human life poses fundamental ethical questions for the medical profession, for governments and for society as a whole.
While it would be useful to have broad principal legislation in place that could apply when any situation arises, legal responses to scientific developments are always reactive.
For surrogacy, we require legislation enshrining the right of the embryo. While a constitutional provision exists relating to the rights of the unborn, we're not exactly sure in the Republic what "unborn" means. It has never been defined. The closest we've come to a definition was during the X case.
But a foetus in the early stages of pregnancy does not refer to a fertilised egg in a laboratory. The Minister for Health and Children, Micheβl Martin, established the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction in March last year.
Its terms of reference mandate the commission "to prepare a report on the possible approaches to the regulation of all aspects of assisted human reproduction and the social, ethical and legal factors to be taken into account in determining public policy in this area".
A late starter in this debate, the Republic now has the opportunity to get it right. We can learn from the experience of others. But for now we are operating in a policy vacuum. What is certain is the need for a considered, rather than pressured, reflection on all aspects of assisted reproduction. And, rather than inappropriate media pressure, we need public consultation. This process is due to start within the next 12 months.
Not unlike the situation regarding abortion, some believe legislators may have difficulty framing appropriate legislation. Others contend that legislation is not necessary and that we should continue to rely on medical ethics. The jury is still out.
In the meantime, assisted human reproduction is selectively available in the Republic. What is at issue is how best it should be regulated. It is important to note that a body of public opinion holds all such interventions to be morally wrong.
The position of the Catholic church, set out in the "Instruction On Respect For Human Life In Its Origin And The Dignity Of Procreation", from 1987, is, on the face of it, opposed to in vitro fertilisation. But in the view of some Catholic theologians, it may leave room for discussion in relation to certain forms of assisted conception, in so far as they are confined to a husband and wife and their own sperm and ova.
Increasingly, gay couples in the Republic are embracing parenthood, and in most cases without the help of assisted reproduction. Sperm donation gets light-hearted treatment in the film The Most Fertile Man In Ireland but, in real life, fertility may not give men the right to be called Dad.
What is the responsibility of a sperm donor, and does he have any rights? In the past, men who spread their seed irresponsibly were criticised for being feckless macho men. The law is a blunt instrument when flesh, blood and emotions are concerned. Madden says any fertile man who might consider donating his sperm for "unconventional" reproduction would be well advised to weigh the interrelated issues surrounding the status of persons, such as legal parentage, registration of births and succession rights.
It remains to be seen if future census figures will reveal the exact incidence of gay men and women co-operating to produce families in the Republic.
Seven years after the decriminalisation of homosexuality, should society be surprised if gay citizens push for legal equality in areas of succession, marriage and parenthood, among other issues? Gay fathers and mothers are not unusual, judging by the numbers of married men and women who frequent gay social and recreational venues.
The debate triggered by the arrival of the Republic's latest surrogate babies is not about whether gay people should be parents, but about society's inability to embrace fully the complexities of homosexuality. The received orthodoxy - the blueprint for living - is back on the drawing board. This is part of the gay agenda.
In the United States, nearly one in four single parents is a man, and studies there reveal, remarkably, that children raised by single fathers - of which there are 2.2 million - outperform those raised by single mothers in school work, behaviour and emotional stability. What appears to be significant is the presence of a committed father, whatever his sexuality. No evidence exists to suggest that the two fathers of the Republic's new surrogate triplets are anything but committed.