Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not accept what the Minister said. It is not about establishing a hierarch of family types. Rather, what is involved here is an attempt to establish a hierarchy for children. As Minister for Justice and Equality and as a former Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, that is what Deputy Fitzgerald should be seeking to do. Earlier, I provided some information in respect of different family types. I will cite one example. I prepared a paper for the World Meeting of Families in 2012. I spent a considerable amount of time researching the paper in question because I wanted to get it right. Every bit of the research I carried out showed that, in general, not all family types give rise to the same outcomes for children. I have seen very good examples of children being well cared for. I wish to refer to a study carried out in Britain which indicates that a child whose biological mother cohabits with someone is 33 times more likely to suffer serious abuse when compared to a children with married parents. I have compiled charts in respect of various family types. Robert Whelan's "Broken Homes & Battered Children: A Study of the Relationship Between Child Abuse and Family Type", which was published in Britain the 1990s, indicates that a child whose biological mother cohabits is 73 times more likely to suffer fatal abuse than a child with married parents.

It is not right to put forward the very simplistic notion that diversity is grand and that all children will enjoy the same outcomes. The latter is not the case. We know from statistics available here that single mothers experience serious financial difficulties in terms of raising their children unless they receive support from the fathers of their children and their own families. We know that those kinds of outcomes affect them from the point of view of education and employment, and in many other ways. It is not good enough for the Minister or the Government to state that it really does not matter. I am of the view that the State has a responsibility to ensure that children get the best opportunities in life. Everything we do in this area is so problematic for children. As a result, we should be absolutely certain that whatever action we take will give them the best prospects going forward. We must take a much more cautious approach.

It is evident from what the Minister stated that we are ill prepared as a result of the bits and pieces approach taken in the Bill. What we are doing is being done for one reason and one reason only. That is wrong. I would have preferred it had a much more measured approach been taken and if, perhaps, either a Green Paper or a White Paper had been compiled. This would have ensured that when we reached this stage of passing the legislation, we would have been certain with regard to what we intend to do. I urge the Minister, even at this late stage, to consider adopting such an approach. This matters to children and the Minister is aware of that. She should not let any ideology - regardless of its source, of how well it is funded or of how professionally it is framed - get in the way of what is right for children.