Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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128. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 507 of 4 March 2025, his views on whether the rights of the child and the best interest principle are met by mandating the consent of both parents in cases (details supplied); if the current position can be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12510/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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This is a matter I raised with the Minister on 4 March by way of a question for written reply. It relates to the mandated requirement for two parents to give consent for certain processes or assessments, even passport applications, in circumstances where one of the parents is either absent or estranged from the family. It can be very difficult for both parents to sign those forms. This disproportionately affects women. Can this be reviewed?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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This is an important question. The issue to which it relates is sensitive in terms of how it can be dealt with. The guardianship of infants is set out through regulation and law under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964. A significant modernisation of the law in this area was brought about in 2015, with the enactment of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015. This legislation extensively amended the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964. The amended Act aligns with Article 42A of the Constitution, which requires that provision be made by law that the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration in the resolution of all proceedings concerning the guardianship or custody of, or access to, any child.

Section 31 of the Act sets out a wide range of factors that the court is required to take into account when determining the best interests of the child in such proceedings. In cases where difficulties arise from the absence of agreement between parents or guardians, for example in relation to health or education issues, or passport issues as the Deputy mentioned, section 11 of the Act allows for an application to be made to the District Court for a direction on a question affecting the welfare of the child.

More generally, my Department is leading a programme of family justice reform as set out in the first family justice strategy, which focuses on the needs and rights of children and providing the assistance parents need when making decisions that affect all of the family. The actions outlined in the strategy stress the centrality of children to many family justice matters and the need to ensure that their best interests are considered, in conjunction with their constitutional rights. This will be achieved through the implementation of over 50 actions across nine goals, with timelines for delivery up to the end of 2025. A number of these actions have already been completed and I would be pleased to provide further updates to the Deputy on this work as he requires.

I am very conscious of what the Deputy has said about the difficulty that can arise in respect of where one parent is not involved and there is an obligation for permission from both parents. That can create significant difficulties, particularly when no involvement from the other parent is ongoing in the child’s life. This is a sensitive issue. I would be interested to hear what the Deputy has to say in respect of proposals. I will consider whatever he does have to say.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Minister hit the nail on the head with what he said at the end. Much of the answer relates to the situation set down in law where there is an agreement between parents but that is not the circumstance I am envisaging. For example, if a child needs a medical or educational assessment or the renewal of a passport and one parent is simply not present, it is not a matter that the parents do not agree - one could almost assume that if a parent were present, there would not be a difficulty - it is the notion that a parent, in order to get their child’s educational or psychological needs assessed, requires the consent of a parent who may not even be in the jurisdiction. This is hugely problematic. The answer cannot be that they have to go to the District Court every time to make an application to overrule that. I am not even sure if the legislative framework covers that in circumstances where the specific scenario is where there is disagreement between the parents and, presumably, where both parents would be represented in an inter partes application. It feels like there is a bureaucratic block here and a scenario which has not been envisaged in the context of the legislation. A review might bring about a more functional system in relation to parents in these particular circumstances.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy identified a good point in the context of where a child just needs a medical or educational assessment. If it is the case that the consent or agreement of both guardians is required, that can be very problematic. I accept the validity of what the Deputy says. There is the option available under section 11 of the guardianship Act that allows for an application to be made to the District Court, but parents should not be put that expense, inconvenience and the level of time commitment involved in order to get a direction in respect of the welfare of their child.

I will have a look at the legislation. I would appreciate if the Deputy would do so too. If there is a minor amendment that is required, I would be happy to sit down and discuss it with him if he would like to introduce it by way of a Private Members Bill. I would happy to talk to him in respect of that. Outside of changing the law, we are limited in what we can do in trying to get agreement or trying to ensure that the consent of both parents is not required. I suspect that does require legislative change. I would be interested in talking to the Deputy in respect of what that change could or should be.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that commitment. I will engage with the Minister. I do not know if this is something that is applied in a way that is intransigent by different State agencies. I do not know the answer to that. I also do not know if it is the case, for example, that a parent now in the situation where a child needs a particular assessment goes to the District Court can make that application in circumstances where he or she could not serve notice on the other parent of the application being made because there is no contact whatever. We know there are families where one parent is estranged. This specifically, and much more commonly, affects women who are left looking after a child in the absence of the father rather than the other way around.

I appreciate the Minister’s commitment. I will engage with him and hopefully we can come to a solution to make this work better.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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If it is the case that the matter has to go to court and the consent cannot be obtained, for example, where the other parent has no involvement in the child’s life, I would have thought that a District Court judge would take that into account and recognise that there has to be some practical solution to the application that is being brought if the parent who is minding the child needs to get the authorisation of the other parent or guardian in order for some assessment to be carried out if that person is not available or is simply not interested in the child. I would think that most District Court judges would adopt a very sensible approach to that and recognise that the application being brought should be consented to. However, we should try to make life easier for people in difficult situations like that. The method for us to make life easier for them is to try to remove any legislative obstacle that exists in respect of it. I will look at the legislation and discuss it with the Deputy.