Mary Henry (Independent)

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 23, subsection (2)(d), line 4, to delete "child." and substitute the following:

"child,

or

(e) declare that they are the mother and father of the child concerned or the prospective parents of the child yet unborn and make a statutory declaration to that effect containing the required particulars needed to register the birth or stillbirth as the case may be.".

We are all agreed by now that it is a good idea that a child should know his or her paternity. Can we include a provision to accommodate unmarried couples where, for example, a non-national father who plans to leave the State can make a statutory declaration acknowledging paternity of a child or stillborn child to be? A father could be registered as the father of a child on the basis of such a declaration.