Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Even though this cohabitation rule is being proposed and despite the fact that the Minister states it will entitle the father to automatic guardianship, if he is the perpetrator of domestic abuse or a criminal, then it will not be automatic and the mother of the child will be in a position to go to court and have his right to guardianship quashed. That is why I do not believe this provision to be necessary. At its core, this is a matter of equality. Like many others, I am arguing that the mother and father should begin as equal guardians to the child. If there is a good reason the mother objects to the father being a guardian, then she should take her case to the courts. If she is found to be in the right, then I presume the court will not grant guardianship to the father. The difficulty now is that the father must ask permission from the mother to be granted his equal rights. That is not fair. The cohabitation rule is a distraction. The core issue is that the father must approach the mother to be granted equality. If she agrees, then all will be well. If she does not, however, he will be obliged to take her to court.

I feel very strongly about this matter. As public representatives, we have all been obliged to deal with fathers who have needed to have recourse to the courts. I accept that there are terrible fathers and men who have no right to claim the title "father". However, there are also very good fathers who have been exasperated as a result of their need to undergo the legal process just to exercise their right to be parents to their children. If we get this right, we will send a clear signal to the effect that we are of the view that mothers and fathers are equal from the outset. If an issue arises, then the mother, or indeed the father, will be able to take a case before the courts to state that the other person involved should not have guardianship rights. The courts, which are independent, should decide these issues. I ask the Minister to reconsider the position on the cohabitation rule and examine the possibility of granting automatic guardianship from the outset.