Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 22, subsection (1), line 16, to delete "The father of a child" and substitute "A person".

The Minister rightly stated earlier that this section is one of the most controversial of the Bill. The new section 22 will replace section 49 of the Status of Children Act 1987 which redefines who we mean to be an unmarried father and his rights and obligations therein in terms of registering his name on a birth certificate.

It is absolutely essential that the rights of the child are paramount in this debate. We had a brief discussion on this earlier. Every child born in this country has a right to know his or her father and mother. There will always be extenuating circumstances where one of those parties may not play any role in the child's life. Section 22 as currently drafted gives unmarried fathers a cavalier role and provides them with an opt-out and says to them "We have no difficulty if you decide not to have your name on the birth certificate." This attitude must be tackled.

Section 22(1) states:

The father of a child who was not married to the mother of the child at the date of his or her birth or at any time during the period of 10 months before such birth shall not be required to give information under this Act about the birth.

The provision allows unmarried fathers who want nothing to do with their children a carte blanche to do as they wish. It gives legal recognition to an opt-out that is not in the interests of the child or society. I would like to know from where this idea came. The formulation of section 49 of the Status of Children Act is much better. It states, in the case of a child whose parents were not married to each other at the date of his or her birth or at any time during the period of ten months before the birth, that no person shall as father of the child be required to give information concerning the birth. The words "a person" have been dropped in the new section. I would like the Minister to put on the record of this House her rationale in that regard.

It is important that we, as legislators, say to parents, married or unmarried, that they have a fundamental responsibility to be inextricably linked with the development and welfare of their child. Too often, fathers take the easy option. There are many examples of young women wanting nothing to do with the man concerned. While I understand that, it is too easy for us to accept this situation in legislation.

Section 49 of the Status of Children Act is probably better than the new section we are debating here today. We have a major responsibility, when establishing registers, to ensure that fathers and mothers whether married or unmarried take their responsibilities seriously and ensure, at the very least, that a child knows his or her parents. There are too many examples of people opting out in this regard. We have a responsibility to get this right.

The debate on this legislation in the other House was rushed. The Dáil had no time to discuss this section. The great advantage of the Seanad is that everyone can speak on Committee Stage and we have a great deal of time to discuss these issues.