Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I will. There were many contributions on the last Stage in the House about fathers' rights and the alleged denial of access by women to fathers who have custody. There were many contributions by different Deputies about that. I think this section clarifies that a second parent can apply to the courts for enforcement and for custody. There seems to be a lot of confusion between guardianship and custody among Deputies and among members of the public. It seems to me that this is what is being used to justify the introduction of automatic guardianship, which I would have questions about, because guardianship gives somebody sweeping powers, for example in relation to passports and the residence of the child.

In cases where relations have broken down, and contact with the child may have broken down over years despite, let us say, the father in this case, living for a full year or more with the mother, I am a bit concerned about the safeguards in relation to violence against women, people who are escaping violent relationships, and giving automatic guardianship to men, in this particular case. One in five women experiences domestic violence. That is quite a lot of women. This country has the highest rate of single-parent families. I know there are situations where men have been deprived of seeing their children but it is very clear here, they can apply for custody and unless there is a very good reason, they will get access to their children. What I am more concerned about is guardianship being given automatically to people who may have had no connection over a long period of time and who have given no financial support, emotional support or anything else. There are quite a lot of lone parents, who are women, who I know are quite concerned about that. Could the Minister give her views on that?