Up to 400 Ukrainian surrogate mothers could be given refuge in Ireland

Mary Seery Kearney with her daughter Scarlett, 6, who was born by surrogacy. Picture: Moya Nolan

Up to 400 surrogate mothers from Ukraine could be given refuge in Ireland, according to a senator advising Irish families whose surrogates are caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict.

Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney who is also a barrister, is advising Irish families who are trying to assist their surrogates and their families.

She is also involved with the families of the four newborn Irish babies in a maternity hospital in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.

Because of their own links to countries like Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, not all of the surrogates will necessarily want to come to Ireland.

But Irish Families Through Surrogacy — one of the country's leading advocates for surrogacy — are helping any of them who do.

Irish families here have already been sending funds over to the Ukrainian women to pay for their transport and that of their families to the Polish border.

Hotel accommodation in Poland and other countries has also been arranged for those families.

The announcement on Tuesday from the Department of Justice that children aged 16 and under can come into the country without a passport has raised the prospect that surrogates and their families could soon now be brought over to live in Ireland.

“This has become my every living moment at the moment,” Senator Seery Kearney said.

How could you not do whatever you can?”

She was unsure how many Ukrainian surrogates were being helped get out of the war-torn country but that the decision by the Department of Justice to relax rules of entry into Ireland was a “game-changer”.

“The Department of Justice announcements regarding visas meant that anyone from Ukraine could travel,” she said.

“That's all very good, and very positive because we don't know how long this will go on for.

“I am in constant contact with families as and when a situation arises.”

'We are devastated for the Ukrainian woman left in the country and have been doing whatever we can to help,' Irish Families Through Surrogacy spokesperson Sara Byrne said.

She added: "You have to realise these women that gave birth to Irish babies a number of years ago have a continual relationship with the Irish families.

“They're friends of the family, as a consequence of the whole journey, but they don't necessarily have passports for their children.”

She estimated at least 400 Ukrainian women had given birth to Irish children through surrogacy.

“If we take last year, there were around 46 babies born in Ukraine and that's probably an average since around 2015, at least,” she said.

“So we're looking at potentially large numbers."

Irish Families Through Surrogacy spokesperson Sara Byrne said: "We are devastated for the Ukrainian woman left in the country and have been doing whatever we can to help,

"I don't know how many have been helped to get to the Polish border but I do know members of our community have been sending funds over to Ukraine.

"I also know a lot of our members are very keen to help bring surrogate mothers over to Ireland if that is what they want.

"Now that children aged 16 and under can come into the country without a passport, that opens the door for Ukrainian women to be brought over with their families."