'I'll do anything for my child', Westlife star calls for surrogacy legislation

Westlife's Mark Feehily is among campaigners calling for the introduction of surrogacy legislation in Ireland.

Speaking to RTÉ about his own experience in becoming a dad, he said;

"The biggest part for me is that I'm a dad and this directly affects my child and my family and so of course that's the main reason, but also it's an opportunity that I can't let pass, to contribute in some small way to help in something very important.

"It's something that I didn't even think twice about because I'll do anything for my child as any parent would," he said.

Under current Irish surrogacy law, the only parent who can have legal guardianship over children born via surrogate is the biological father. Other parents must wait two years before applying to be their child's guardian.

Last year, the campaign group, Equality for Children, determined that 60% of children born to LGBT+ families are not covered by the Children and Family Relationships Act of 2015.

The #StillNotEqual campaign continues to push for the recognition of children born to LGBT+ families in Ireland.

The singer and his partner, Cailean O'Neill, welcomed a baby girl, their daughter Layla via surrogate in 2019.

"It's all about parents taking care of and minding their children and in order to do that 100%, we have to all be legally covered, you know, and that's what this is all about. It's quite a simple thing really", he added.

There is currently a Bill which covers surrogacy being drafted by the Department of Health.