Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2014
576. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on whether unmarried fathers should have equal rights of access and guardianship to their children as unmarried mothers; her plans, if any, to deal with this matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25652/14]
View answerUnder the law as it stands, while the father of a child born outside marriage does not have an automatic statutory right to guardianship, he may readily obtain guardianship by means of making, jointly with the child's mother, the statutory declaration referred to in section 2(d) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 as amended. If the mother does not agree to make the statutory declaration, he may apply to court for an order under section 6A of that Act (as inserted by the Status of Children Act 1987) making him a guardian of the child. It should be noted that the vast majority of such applications are successful.
The General Scheme of the Children and Family Relationships Bill, published on 30 January 2014 for consultation, proposes to enable a broader range of non-marital fathers to have automatic guardianship in respect of their children. The General Scheme proposes that fathers who cohabit with the mothers of their children for a year before the birth of their child will automatically be guardians of those children. The aim is to support those fathers who have a committed relationship with the child's mother. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, to which the General Scheme was referred for pre-legislative scrutiny, has recommended reviewing the duration of cohabitation required for automatic guardianship. I am currently considering this recommendation.
Questions concerning access to a child generally arise only where there is a dispute between the parents and they are not living together. The preferred option is that the parents should agree - perhaps through mediation - arrangements concerning custody of and access to the child. Where they are unable to reach agreement, the parents may apply to court for orders concerning custody and access. Under section 3 of the 1964 Act, the court must decide the question having regard to the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration. The General Scheme of the Children and Family Relationships Bill proposes that the child's best interests should be the paramount consideration in decisions concerning access. I believe that what is proposed in the General Scheme rightly focuses on the child's needs concerning access, while aiming to promote meaningful relationships between a child and both parents, where appropriate and possible.
