LGBT families are being 'disportionately excluded' from new reproduction legislation, a father of two has said.
The passing of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill through the final stages of the Dáil on Wednesday has been welcomed by many.
But same-sex parents who have used surrogacy say it ignores many of their concerns.
The bill will legislate the regulation of a wide range of practices including embryo donation for assisted human reproduction.
It also establishes an independent regulatory authority for assisted human reproduction - the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA).
Irish Gay Dads Chairperson Séamus Kearney Martone told Lunchtime Live there are still gaps in the law.
"A lot of our families will be protected by this legislation," he said.
"A lot of our Irish Gay Dads will receive their declaration of parentage - but a lot of them won't - if I think about couples living abroad.
"Because they haven't been habitually residing in Ireland for two years, around the time of their surrogacy journeys, they'll be unable to get their declaration of parentage.
"Why the delays? Minister Donnelly cited that it was due to the fact that the areas are so complex."
A starting point
Mr Martone said they were told in December by the Department of Health that these issues would be addressed by the time the bill got to this stage.
"So it really was a surprise to all of us to hear on Wednesday that in fact they were going to pushed to a new amendment bill that was going to happen in September," he said.
Mr Martone said they have been told the legislation is a starting point.
"We've heard that the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill was paused in order to being in international surrogacy," he said.
"In terms of legislation it is important to have a starting point; but the way that we feel as a community is that we have been disproportionately excluded from this legislation".
'Going to have to wait'
Equality for Children CEO Ranae Von Meding told the show her children were conceived through donor reproduction.
"Two of our daughters have two legal parents, one of our children has one parent," she said.
"This bill, we were promised, was going to fix that and on Wednesday we learned that that was going to be delayed.
"It was a celebratory day for many families, for many people who it did cover.
"But for many families like mine - who were conceived either through donor-assisted reproduction or through surrogacy - it was a devastating day to be told once again we were going to have to wait".
Ms von Meding said if anything were to happen to her, her son would have no legal parent in the State.
"My wife has no legal connection to our son," she said.
"At the moment you cannot become a guardian of a child conceived through donor reproduction or surrogacy until the child is two years old," she added.
The bill will now proceed to the Seanad.
