Ms Mary Roche:

The information piece is critical. We hear constantly from women that because maintenance payments have not been made they are going to withhold visitation rights. We always respond that under the court order, they cannot do that. People sometimes do not realise that under the law, access is different to maintenance. This is an issue internationally. Most people are not lawyers and it is only when life circumstances happen that they find themselves in this context. The Australian Government had a massive national public information campaign on this area which targeted the general population. We are contacted daily by people who as sole guardians of a child go to a Garda station to have passport application forms signed and the Garda refuse to sign them. In judges' decisions, a person might be a guardian of one child but not of another. There is a lack of general understanding around the concepts. This ties into what was said earlier about the Law Reform Commission recommendation in regard to simplifying the concepts. It is about the day-to-day care and the language used around these concepts.

Deputy Clare Daly mentioned the voice of the child. One of our recommendations is in regard to the child statements of arrangement form. It comprises 27 questions. It is a requirement of the Child and Family Relationships Act. The idea was that all judges at District Court level should be using this. It asks a broad range of questions on issues to do with domestic violence, criminality and what other children are living in the house. Lots of people have children by different parents and so the whole structure of the family is different. This is meant to give the judges an overview of a particular family. We have found that the form is being used in Dublin and Cork but outside of that, it is not being used. In terms of District Court judges, this form should be compulsory, because it means they have to take time and look at the family.