Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 56:

In page 43, after line 39, to insert the following:"(5) The Minister shall, by way of regulation, make provision for the establishment of a national register of joint guardianship statutory declarations.".

I have already outlined the rationale for this amendment. I appreciate that the Minister gave a commitment to initiate a pilot scheme, but there should be a register of these agreements because pieces of paper are lost and it would be silly if cases were to end up in court unnecessarily just because the father could not put his hands on a piece of paper. At the time of making the declaration there might not have been any conflict between the mother and the father and it might not have seemed a big deal; therefore, the father would have signed it and filed it away, but having clarity would be in everybody's interest - of both parents, the child and the State - to keep unnecessary cases out of court. It is important to have clarity about guardianship and having a central register would be a simple way of providing for it.