A Government-commissioned report has called for the introduction of regulations to govern the treatments offered to infertile couples and scientific research involving embryos.
The Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction published the results of four years of research today.
The findings of the report are especially significant for the one in six Irish couples who have difficulty conceiving, as well as for scientific research in Ireland.
There is a regulation vacuum in this area and the commission wants this changed.
In a comprehensive and wide-ranging report, the commission makes 40 recommendations, giving the green light in some contentious areas.
It recommends that scientists should be allowed to use embryos in research, including stem cell research, but with important restrictions and in a tightly regulated environment.
It says fertility treatment should be available to all regardless of sexual orientation.
The report also says the embryo not yet planted in the womb should be exempt from the constitutional protection currently afforded to the unborn under article 40.3.3 of the constitution.
