The Minister is wrong in referring to the guidelines from 2006 as they have been superseded by the guidelines issued in 2009 http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Publications/services/Childre... which state that "Consent of both Guardians is required for treatment/service unless one guardian is not contactable or indicates that they do not wish to be consulted or that they wish the custodial guardian to make any necessary decisions on their behalf".
In fact, "New guidance is being developed and legal advice has been sought by the HSE, following concern over a lack of consistency with regard to the issue of consent from separated parents between national guidelines developed by the HSE and those being operated by individual hospitals at local level.
See http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2011/07/guidance-now-bein...
Cathal Garvey
Posted on 31 Jan 2012 2:30 am
The Minister is wrong in referring to the guidelines from 2006 as they have been superseded by the guidelines issued in 2009 http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Publications/services/Childre... which state that "Consent of both Guardians is required for treatment/service unless one guardian is not contactable or indicates that they do not wish to be consulted or that they wish the custodial guardian to make any necessary decisions on their behalf".
In fact, "New guidance is being developed and legal advice has been sought by the HSE, following concern over a lack of consistency with regard to the issue of consent from separated parents between national guidelines developed by the HSE and those being operated by individual hospitals at local level.
See http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2011/07/guidance-now-bein...