Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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603. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the way the concerns of unmarried fathers who have no automatic rights to guardianship are being dealt with; the role her Department has to address those concerns; the way future legislation will be able to assist; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32708/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The law as it stands provides two routes for a non-marital father to obtain guardianship in relation to his child. Where the child's mother is in agreement, she and the father can jointly make a statutory declaration (referred to in section 2(4) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, as amended by the Children Act 1997) appointing him as a guardian of the child. If the child's mother is not in agreement, the father can apply to court for appointment as a guardian under section 6A of the Guardianship of Infants Act, as inserted by the Status of Children Act 1987. Notably, in the vast majority of applications determined by the courts, the father is appointed a guardian.

The General Scheme of the Children and Family Relationships Bill also includes additional provisions under which many non-marital fathers would become guardians of their children on an automatic basis. This will be determined on the basis of living together with the child's mother. I am considering what further amendments may be required to these policy proposals to ensure that non-marital fathers who have a family life with their children and the children's mother can be guardians of their children without the need for further specific action on their part.