Vol. 552 No. 1
545 Mr. Power asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will consider changes to guardianship rights which would allow a partner to have sole guardianship of their child when the other partner dies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11342/02]
Under section 6A of the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964, as inserted by section 12 of the Status of Children Act, 1987, an unmarried father may apply to the court to be appointed a guardian of his child. Alternatively, where there is agreement between the parents, they can make a statutory declaration under section 2(4) of the Act, as inserted by section 4 of the Children Act, 1997, conferring on the father the status of guardian. Section 8(4) of the Guardianship of Infants Act provides that a guardian holding office by virtue of these provisions may be removed only by the court. Section 7 of the Act contains provision for the appointment by a parent of a testamentary guardian of the child and for the resolution of disputes about guardianship and custody between the surviving parent and the testamentary guardian. Under section 8(2), if no guardian has been appointed by a deceased parent, the court may appoint a guardian or guardians to act jointly with the surviving parent.
The Deputy will note that sections 7 and 8(2) apply whether or not the parents of the child are married to each other. Section 6(3) of the Act provides that, on the death of the mother of a child, the father, if surviving, shall be guardian of the child alone or jointly with any guardian appointed by the mother or by the court. Section 6(2) contains a similar provision with the necessary adjustments for the situation in which the father dies. The word "father" in this context includes an unmarried father who has become guardian of his child by virtue of one of the provisions referred to in the first paragraph above. I believe these legislative provisions are appropriate and I stress that section 3 of the Guardianship of Infants Act states that, in court proceedings where the guardianship of a child is in question, the court shall regard the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration. If, however, the Deputy wishes to let me know of specific circumstances in which he considers that a change in the law would be desirable, I would be pleased to examine his proposal.
