Vol. 532 No. 4
540 Mr. Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has satisfied himself that grandparents have sufficient rights of access to their grandchildren; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7772/01]
The Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, as amended by the Children Act 1997, enables a person who is a relative of a child – e.g. grandparent – to apply, subject to certain conditions, for an order granting access to the child. The court, in deciding the question of access, must regard the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration. While I have no proposals to change the law in this area, my Department continues to keep operation of it under review.
