Finian McGrath
Ceist:559 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on equality in our family law system in regard to correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7998/03]
Written Answers - Family Law System.
The administration of justice is a matter for the courts, in which I have no role. As regards the hearing of family law cases in general, I propose to change the in camera rule so as to allow for the general reporting of overall trends while continuing to respect the privacy of all those involved.
In relation to access orders, the position is that section 5 of the Courts (No. 2) Act 1986, as amended, provides that, without prejudice to the law as to contempt of court, any person having the actual custody of a child, who has been given or shown a copy of a custody or access order made by the District Court relating to that child and who fails or refuses to give up the child to the person who has been granted custody or to allow the person entitled to access to have such access, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €1904.61 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.
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. In any proceedings under the 1964 Act, where the custody, guardianship or upbringing of a child is in question, the court, in deciding that question, shall regard the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration. The balance struck in the existing provisions is a good one in that it provides that an unmarried father can become the guardian of his child by agreement with the mother or by obtaining a court order and, in making such an order, the court is required to regard the child's welfare as the first and paramount consideration. Similarly, decisions on access must be based on the child's welfare and I would not support any alternative provisions.
In accordance with section 16 of the Family Law Act 1995 and section 20 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996, the court, in making ancillary orders on the occasion of judicial separation or divorce respectively, must ensure that proper provision is made for the spouses and dependent members of the family. These Acts require the court to have regard in particular to a range of factors reflecting the income, assets and needs of the parties.
Under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, the court has power to make such orders for the payment of maintenance in respect of a child as it considers reasonable. The Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976 gives the court power to make such orders for payment of maintenance as is proper in the circumstances.
The Domestic Violence (Amendment) Act 2002 replaces section (4)(3) of the Domestic Violence Act 1996, relating to the making of interim barring ordersex parte which was held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The new section (4)(3) provides that an ex parte order has effect for not more that eight working days unless, on application by the applicant and on notice to the respondent, the ex parte order is confirmed within the period by order of the court. Also, an application for an interim barring order must be made either on affidavit or on sworn information and, if the order is made ex parte, a note of the evidence given together with the court order and the affidavit or sworn information must be served on the respondent as soon as practicable.
Family law provisions are kept under continual review in my Department. However, the provisions summarised above are generally preferable to the proposals in the document attached to the Deputy's question. Legislation on registration of births in a matter for the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. Issues relating to health boards are for the Minister for Health and Children.