Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 103:

In page 49, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “Best interests of the child

50. Where, in any proceedings before any court under this Part, the court, in determining whether to make an order, shall regard the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration.”.

The amendment would ensure that the courts view the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration and we all subscribe to that. This was also one of the recommendations in the report of the special rapporteur on child protection. He said that this legislation "should provide that the best interests of the child are the first and paramount consideration for all bodies (including courts and regulatory authorities) exercising functions under the legislation".

The LGBT+ parenting alliance argues that subjective assessments and discretionary provisions are a corner stone of family law legislation. For example, for guardianship, custody, maintenance and so on already exist. The AHR Bill, as currently drafted, and the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 are outliers in this regard. While there is provision for a best-interests test, this is not equivalent to judicial discretion, and for that reason I am proposing that we amend section 50 in this regard.