Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am very pleased to speak on what is a very important Bill which will overhaul family law in Ireland. It is perhaps the most important and far-reaching Bill to come before the House during the lifetime of the Government. It is a large Bill and I can only refer to a small amount of it in the time available to me. The Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015 represents the most important reform of child and family law for a generation. It seeks to put children at the heart of family law, to provide legal clarity on various family types and address the discrimination faced by children in non-marital families.

The Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, of which I am a member, was invited to review and consider the proposed legislation and report back to the Minister with any observations arising from the consultation process. The committee held a public consultation and its report was published in May 2014. I was glad to be able to participate in this valuable process. It is hoped that the Bill will significantly reduce the number of cases going to court due to the current legal vacuum. The Bill addresses key issues related to guardianship, custody, access, maintenance, adoption, parentage, assisted human reproduction and surrogacy.

The Bill will amend a number of existing pieces of legislation, including the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, which will be repealed in its entirety. The Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976, the Status of Children Act 1987, the Family Law Act 1995 and the Adoption Act 2010 will also be addressed. The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 will also be amended.

The Bill will see further implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Ireland by protecting the child's right to family life and protecting the children of unmarried parents from discrimination based on their parents' marital status. The best interests of the child will be of paramount consideration in decisions involving guardianship, custody and access, and children will be provided with the right to have their voices heard as part of the best interests determination in guardianship, custody and access cases.

The Irish Constitution places great importance on the family, defining it as "the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society". However, the courts have narrowly interpreted the constitutional family as only including marital families. Cohabiting couples, civil partners, lone parents, unmarried fathers and grandparents are all excluded from this definition. An increasing number of children are being cared for in non-marital settings. For example, one in four children live with a lone mother and almost one in ten live with unmarried cohabiting couples. However, the law does not provide for the recognition of the unmarried parents' relationship with the child. This can have an impact on matters that are part of the day-to-day parenting role, such as giving consent to medical treatment or granting permission for a school trip. This lack of legal clarity can be particularly detrimental to a child in the context of a marital breakdown.

I would like to speak briefly about my experience. My father died when I was two and a half years old. I had a younger sister and my mother became a widow. Having grown up in a one-parent family gives me some insight into the experience of lone parents.

The Bill aims to provide greater legal certainty and recognition of the relationship between the child and the person or persons responsible for his or her everyday care and upbringing. The explicit focus on the best interests of the child is extremely welcome. However, I have concerns about how the courts can be systematically and professionally resourced with the relevant background information to determine the best interests of the child. I have heard too many stories of our courts being under-resourced with the relevant information, in particular when parents are not in co-operation or agreement about plans for the child's care.

The provisions of the Bill on family violence and domestic abuse are welcome. I strongly urge courts to examine all issues relating to a family in the round, preferably in one sitting by the same judge, to ensure consistency and that decisions are made in the best interests of the child. Family violence is not limited to physical harm, sexual abuse or fearing for one's safety. This must also be taken into account.

I am very proud to support this pioneering, modernising and overdue Bill. I commend it to the House.

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