Ms Karen Kiernan:

When the Law Reform Commission examined this issue, it looked at compulsory birth registration and automatic guardianship flowing from it. These issues are being dealt with by two Departments. Many of us working with families would have concerns about this. Simply because someone's name is on a birth certificate does not mean that it is in the child's best interests for that person to have automatic guardianship. There must always be a balance. Again, this goes back to an evidence base for each family around what is in the child's best interests. Children can be conceived through illegal and abusive means. We need to be cognisant of this. One Family's position certainly has been that there should be much more information provided for non-marital couples on the benefits of joint guardianship. We actually did not go as far as to say it should be compulsory. We are of the view that there should be a break between birth registration and guardianship rights for practical child safety reasons.