Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2004
110 Ms O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will clarify her recent remarks at an EU conference on families and European social policy that the judicial system here must undergo an attitudinal change if separated fathers are to be allowed play a more active role in the upbringing of their children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17715/04]
View answerThe Irish Presidency conference in question examined the theme of "Families, Change and Social Policy in Europe". One of the main changes affecting families is the growing participation of women in the workforce. As a result one of the key challenges to be addressed by families is how to reconcile work and family life.
One outcome is that many women are left to carry the double burden of work and care of home and children. It is still frequently expected that women will give precedence to caregiving, while in the case of men it is still more acceptable to give precedence to the demands of employment. One illustration of this is that 98% of those receiving the one-parent family payment in 2002 were women.
These societal attitudes on the respective parenting roles of men and women are, in my opinion, inevitably reflected in decisions given on arrangements for custody and access to the children when parents decide to separate. Custody is generally awarded to the mother and the arrangements made for access and the way in which these are enforced may not reflect the previous degree of involvement of the father in the child's upbringing and the father's desire for such involvement. In some cases this may result in fathers being denied reasonable access to their children.
It is in the interests of all family members, fathers, mothers and children, that fathers assume a more equal share in the care of their children and that this is more effectively facilitated, especially by employers. This should in time ease the double burden that many women have to bear, contribute to achieving a more effective balance of work and family life, and lead to more effective parenting.
Changes of this kind are unlikely to occur overnight and are for the longer term. In the meantime, the difficulties some fathers are experiencing in gaining access to their children, when they are living separately from the mother, must be addressed and the current legal provisions governing this need to be examined. The mediation services administered by the Family Support Agency can also make a significant immediate contribution, which is one of the reasons I have sought and obtained funding to expand the service further, in the north-west and the midlands this year.
This issue will also be addressed in the strategy on supports for families in preparation for issue before the end of the year. I was pleased in this context to be in a position to fund, as part of the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the UN International Year of the Family, the first national fathers' conference on 14 June, at which a range of issues affecting unmarried and separated fathers were addressed. I look forward to receiving a report on the outcome of the conference, which will be fully taken into account in developing the strategy.
