Westlife singer Mark Feehily calls for update to Irish surrogacy laws

Westlife singer Mark Feehily has called on Ireland’s government to change the current surrogacy laws to give more support to the LGBTQ community

Mark and partner Cailean, who welcomed daughter Layla in 2019, have long called for the laws to be updated as it is so far behind when it comes to the rights of same-sex couples.

He recently told Aldi’s Mamia and Me podcast why he feels the legislation needs to change.

The 41-year-old said: “I loved to not have to travel to the other side of the world to do what we did. It’s Layla’s equal rights, kids born through surrogacy at the moment, when they come back to Ireland they have to fit in with a law made for a different set of people.

“The children are here, they’re born and they deserve to be recognised.

“As a father, I feel I have a duty to do what I can to create a better world for my daughter to grow up in.”

The County Sligo native said he is regularly contacted by same-sex couples about their journey to becoming parents and he said he tries to offer what support he can.

He said legislation in Ireland at present was designed around a heterosexual man and a heterosexual woman to have a baby.

He said: “Families who have babies are having to squeeze themselves into rules and the laws that have been made up for a completely different situation.”

He added that there were too many same-sex couples facing similar struggles across the country and globally.

Mark has been blessed with a hugely successful career as a singer with the band, Westlife.

He announced his engagement to his fiance Cailean in February 2019 while on holiday in the Maldives.

To listen to Mark discuss his journey to parenthood, his love, and Ireland and his plans for Father’s Day, click here.