Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I share the sentiments expressed on the subject of greater rights for unmarried fathers. We have done a great disservice to unmarried fathers and their children by not giving them any right whatsoever. Our law seems to be based on the requirement that they either prove themselves in court or otherwise to the mother, meaning that it is in her gift to recognise the parentage of the father without consideration of the best interests of the child, which should be the most important aspect.

I had initially planned to table an amendment similar to Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh's to provide for blanket guardianship rights at birth but, having consulted some of the groups with an interest in this issue, I am aware of concerns about a small minority of cases in which there are issues to do with rape or safety which need to be addressed. However, I intend to table an amendment on Report Stage and would like to hear the Minister's views on providing for a presumption of guardianship for the father which could be displaced in the limited circumstances where there the child was conceived through rape or there was a safety risk to the mother or the child.

Let us presume all fathers should be involved and not penalise all fathers for the actions of a small minority, for whom there should be a proportionate and appropriate system. We do not make the same judgments for marital fathers, every one of whom is regarded as a guardian, regardless of whether he is actually fit for that purpose, for example, where there is serious domestic violence. The same applies in the case of a mother who, whether she is married or unmarried, automatically has guardianship rights in respect of her child, even though in a minority of cases she should not have them.

There have to be more appropriate ways of dealing with this issue. In the United Kingdom and other countries there is a presumption of guardianship. I am not comfortable with the idea of waiting two years to deal with the issue as it has been an ongoing issue for a long time. I appreciate that the Bill provides for some improvements in respect of those fathers living with the mother, but that remains too focused on the father's relationship with the mother, rather than on the father's relationship with the child, which should be the key interest.