Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies for their contributions on this topic, which was a key part of the discussion on Second Stage. As I said, I have taken action in a number of the amendments I tabled to make it easier for fathers to get information on the statutory declaration which is, in effect, the mechanism by which non-marital fathers can assert their guardianship rights at the current time. We know that many do not.

Constitutional protection for the family refers to a family based on marriage. To some degree, the provisions of the Bill reflect the existing constitutional protection for marital fathers and are the consequence of legal advice. Equally, we are discussing statutory declarations, which I accept.

The complexities of this debate are illustrated by the comments of Deputies Mac Lochlainn and Coppinger on automatic guardianship for fathers, which captured some of the issues in the Bill. Where a father has ongoing and real involvement in his child's life, it is very important to ensure he can be the child's guardian. That is why the Bill already extends automatic guardianship to fathers living in a family unit with the child's mother and the child.

I am also ensuring that information is more readily available to parents and it will be much easier to make statutory declarations, appointing the father as a guardian. The Bill, and what I will introduce, will substantially improve the position of many non-marital fathers who are actively and meaningfully involved in their children's lives, regardless of the relationship with the child's mother, to pick up on Deputy Boyd Barrett's point. We know there can be conflict.

I understand the point made on automatic guardianship in all cases. There are a range of issues.

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