'Kate is my daughter — but the State still does not recognise me as her mammy'

Suzanne Grennan is one of the surrogate parents hoping to see progress on the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill in the Dáil next week 

'All we are asking for is that our diverse families have the same rights as yours, that we will finally exist in the eyes of the Irish State.' Stock picture: iStock

My family is small. Just me and my daughter Kate. She is seven, soon to be eight. When people first meet us, they presume Kate’s dad is Indian. He is Irish. Kate was born through surrogacy in Mumbai, India in 2015. 

Our situation was inspired by Fiona Whyte’s 2014 documentary on her and her partner Seán Malone’s surrogacy journey and the couple's follow-up book, published in 2017, Without a Doubt: An Irish Couple’s Journey Through IVF, Adoption and Surrogacy, which outlined the legal difficulties of having a child through surrogacy in Ireland.