Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Although I am in sympathy with this section, it is a major change in society and there has not been enough discussion. However, I will not hold up the passage of the Bill.

Given the substantial change, it is interesting that those who would normally lobby us in terms of human rights and changes to the law, such as the Law Society of Ireland, have not been in contact on this. There is a degree of compulsion, albeit in some ways welcome because in a small society in Ireland there are elements of genetics, elements of the rights of a child to know his or her father and a range of issues on which everybody is exercised, but there are also the rights of the mother on occasion as well, for instance, in the case of rape. Will there be a compulsion, if the woman has not reported it?

In the case of young people, for instance, there is a consequence, if a 15 year old who got pregnant declares on the birth certificate of the child a 15 or 16 year old father, that the father could be charged. We had this debate not so long ago where one is dealing with a child in one sense, but also with a criminal offence which now is reportable. In such a case, any official, doctor, nurse or registrar would have to report it immediately to social services and An Garda Síochána, and rightly so, but it is in some ways the unknown consequence. I am not saying that we necessarily create a loophole, but we must be aware that sometimes when we try to do right there can be instances where the outcome is not favourable. Perhaps that is covered in part of the Bill which allows the Registrar not to register if there is compelling reason and in that case, it might be that the Registrar would say to leave it a few years. The problem is that if the Registrar said that, he would be breaking the law.

There are many instances where the mother will not register the father, maybe because at the time of birth he is abusive or for one or more of a range of issues, and there is a retrospective registering of the father. Similar to Deputy O'Dea's last request, in a case where a father challenges this and says "No", will the State pay for the DNA tests at that stage if he refuses to acknowledge or be named on a birth certificate if he has no role in the life of the mother or child? I ask this because it will be a challenge. There are a lot of fathers who are aware of their responsibilities, have denied them for years and will not take it easily that they are being named on birth certificates. Somebody must foot the bill to ensure, if they are the father, that such is recognised through a DNA test or some mechanism. In that instance one is getting into compulsion.

I am not opposed to the section but am striking a note of caution. The system has worked quite well up until now. For many years there has been a problem where for beneficial financial reasons some might have signed the birth certificate with the father's name on it. I might come back to the matter to see whether I can tighten it up a little at Report Stage or I might leave it to the Minister. We have at least raised those concerns. Perhaps the Registrar, when this is passed, can have a detailed note on what to do in specific instances, but I would be interested in those complex cases involving the teenage years of 15 and 16.