Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

While I welcome this section of the Bill, I would like to mention something that I think is missing from it. I appreciate that this does not fall under the remit of the Minister of State or the Department of Social Protection. The corresponding rights should be given to the fathers. Obviously, fathers have rights and responsibilities. As far as I am aware, in Scotland and the other jurisdictions in the UK, if one's name is on the birth certificate one gets automatic guardianship rights. I am sure that is qualified in a manner like that outlined by the Minister of State, for example, when issues arise regarding the best interests of the child. The proposal made by the Department of Justice and Equality in a forthcoming Bill does not nearly go far enough. It continues the discrimination against unmarried fathers. To be honest, it does this in a kind of moral or judgmental way. Deputy Ó Snodaigh said things have worked well, but I do not think they really have. In addition to my anecdotal knowledge of cases, I have some family law experience from my time as an apprentice solicitor. I was not involved in this area when I worked as a solicitor. When I was dealing with cases, I felt that many unmarried fathers, or even fathers who were married, were pushed away from playing a part in their children's lives. It is the law that does that as much as anything else. I suggest that if they were given more rights, they would take more responsibility. As I recall it, a finding along these lines was contained in a study that was carried out at one stage by an academic at Waterford Institute of Technology. The study basically suggested that the rules and regulations of our society, and the manner in which things operate, are pushing unmarried fathers away from playing an active part as parents. While I welcome this legislation as a start, I think the corresponding legislation should be used to follow the example of other jurisdictions that give full guardianship rights to unmarried fathers whose names are on birth certificates. I just wanted to make that point.