Vol. 514 No. 1
219 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the proposals, if any, he has for legislation to give unmarried fathers, who want a full and active role in the upbringing of their children, the same rights as unmarried mothers and married fathers. [3673/00]
Legislative policy regarding guardianship and custody of and access to children is as contained in the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964, the Status of Children Act, 1987, and the Children Act, 1997. The policy in these areas was the subject of review in the course of preparation of the Bill which led to the Act of 1997. That Bill was the subject of detailed debate in the course of its passage through the House.
The Act of 1997, which came into force in January 1998, makes it possible for a father who has not married the mother of his child to acquire joint guardianship rights by agreement with the mother of his child without having to go to court. In addition, it inserted new provisions in the Act of 1964 to specify that the court has discretion whether or not to order joint custody.
In the course of passage of the Bill, I strengthened it in the area of guardianship, custody and access with a provision that the court, in settling disputes in relation to children, must have regard to whether the child's best interests would be served by maintaining personal relations and direct contact with both his or her father and mother on a regular basis. That provision was inspired by a provision in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
There are no further proposals to amend the law in this area, although its operation is being kept under review.
