The Government is moving to tackle the current "unregulated" nature of surrogacy, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said this morning.

Speaking on his way into Cabinet, Mr Howlin said Minister for Health Leo Varadkar would bring forward draft heads of a Bill on Surrogacy, Assisted Human Reproduction and Associated Research.

“The surrogacy issue is very complicated in and of itself because technology is changing and right now the area is unregulated,”Mr Howlin said.

“Real issues now are being presented to the courts in the absence of a backdrop of legislation determined by the Oireachtas.”

Mr Howlin said the Bill would require some more detailed public discussion so a broad public consensus could be reached.

He said the issues involved “go to the heart of families” and people involved had very strong views. “They should be listened to so that we can craft the best solutions.”