David Norris (Independent)

Before the adjournment of this debate, I was talking about the differentiation between married and unmarried parents and the situation in which the father is not registered. However, he can be registered if there is an agreement between the mother and the father and there is a statutory declaration in the presence of a commissioner of oaths. That is an advance on the previous situation. However, the problem is that this is not recorded as yet. There is no requirement for it to be recorded in any central register. That means there is an obligation on the parents to retain that, which they should do as good caring citizens, but that does not always happen and it can be mislaid, which could create a problem. It would mean they could be in significant trouble.

There is a provision for re-registration of a birth if, for example, the parents subsequently marry or paternity is acknowledged by the mother. That is perfectly right. However, it should be automatic. The appointment of unmarried fathers as guardians is an equally important life event, given the range of rights and duties it encompasses, including the religious, moral, intellectual and social upbringing of the child. It should be placed on an equal basis and it should not be discriminatory.

At present there is considerable confusion about guardianship and the question of recording the father's name on the register. Many people incorrectly believe that putting the father's name on the register automatically makes him a guardian of the children. As the Minister knows this is not so at present. It would be a great help and clear up considerable confusion if the entry of the father's particulars on the register automatically conferred a possible further right of guardianship at a later stage. While this could require an amendment to the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, my advice is it could also be done within the scope of the Bill and the Minister should consider doing so.

In the light of the fact that in holy Catholic Ireland one third of children are now born outside marriage, we are dealing with a very large number of citizens. Many fathers depend on these agreements to acquire the guardianship of the children. If there is a dispute the only record is this document and there should be a method of establishing how it was made. In other words there exists a two-tier discriminatory system as between married parents and, in particular, the biological father of the child in cases where the parents are unmarried, which is wrong. For example, children born to married parents can be registered in hospital immediately. However, unmarried parents are required to go to the register's office, which is discriminatory.

Search engines, indexes, and children born outside marriage in the mother's name or in the chosen surname of the child only make it difficult for the father to trace using his name. Although the Bill is a further improvement and marks an advance, it is still discriminatory in certain areas and I ask the Minister to take these matters into account and see if the changes I have suggested could be incorporated into the Bill.

As I said at the beginning of my contribution, a number of organisations have briefed many Senators and I understand that Fine Gael has been charged with tabling the amendments. It would be futile for me to table them. As was pointed out, we do not have a member on the relevant committee and it is appropriate for the Senator involved to table them. We will certainly support the amendments and I ask the Minister to look kindly upon them.