Trans woman granted leave to challenge refusal to register child for Irish citizenship

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A trans woman with Irish citizenship has been granted leave by the High Court to challenge the State’s refusal to enter her child on the Foreign Births Register. The child was conceived with her frozen sperm and carried by her wife, who is not an Irish citizen. The woman is seeking recognition as the child’s legal and genetic parent and an order requiring registration and citizenship.

The woman says the State’s position is that the person who gives birth is the child’s mother, and that she therefore does not qualify as an Irish citizen parent. She submits that she could have claimed to be the child’s “father” and might have obtained citizenship by descent that way. She argues that having to do so would attack her gender identity, legal status and marriage.

Ms Justice Sara Phelan granted leave for judicial review and adjourned the case to January. The proceedings were reported on 12 November 2025.