David Norris (Independent)

This causes great pain. I would laugh at it myself in some ways, but when I see the distress it has caused to Irish citizens it seems wrong. However, I will leave that for anotherday.

The Minister has found a resolution to the Church of Ireland impediment because I was privy to a conversation between Senator Ross and Senator Mansergh this morning, both of whom had been approached by Bishop Colton. I was ignored, perhaps because I live in the slums and they went to public schools. Nobody came near me, but I am sure Senator Mansergh will be able to recount what resolution has been agreed.

I welcome this Bill and I congratulate the Minister. It is the first major legislation in this area since 1845 which is a long time ago. There is an argument for keeping records in their local base because they are most germane to that area and I remind the Minister that copies at least must be kept. When the Customs House burnt down one of the reasons so many Church of Ireland members could trace their ancestry was that many local vestries had not surrendered the original ledgers and so on. People were able to return to parish churches around the country and find them. In other words, they survived the centralisation. In a recent case involving the notorious doctor Sir Roy Meadow where it was suggested that an Irishwoman had murdered her child, local research showed that there was a syndrome of sudden infant death in that family which emerged only when the local registers were consulted.

The chief issue is that to which Senator Henry referred: the discrimination between married and unmarried fathers in particular. Senator Henry mentioned amendments made available which she may put down and I understand these have been made available to Fine Gael.

The reason I did not table them was that the person who contacted me said there was no Independent member on the committee, but there was a Fine Gael person so they were given to him or her. Whoever tables them, I will be happy to support them, but I will not table them. I hope the Minister takes them on board.

Up to 1987 unmarried fathers could not be appointed as guardians of their own children unless they married the child's mother and adopted the child. Section 12 of the Status of Children Act 1987 gave the courts power to appoint the father, which was an improvement. There was a further improvement in section 2 of the Children Act 1997 which provided that an unmarried father could be appointed guardian of his children with the mother's agreement if both signed a statutory declaration to that effect in the presence of a commissioner of oaths. Although that is a great improvement, there is no methodology for registering it.

Debate adjourned.