“DECENT DADS” who are being denied contact with their children have been promised assistance by the Junior Minister for Equality and Integration, Mary White.

Currently in Ireland, a mother automatically receives the right as sole guardian of a child – if the child is born outside of marriage.

Therefore, some fathers who experience a relationship breakdown with the mother of their children find that they have no legal recourse to see their children if the mother doesn’t permit it.

In Ireland, a father can only obtain joint-guardianship rights of his child if the mother signs a statutory declaration to allow it. Conversely, the only way a mother can give up her guardianship in Ireland is to place to child for adoption.

According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office, there were 24,532 registered births outside of marriage in 2009 in Ireland.

White said that the recent passing of the civil partnership bill opens the way for an examination of the rights of all Irish citizens, including unmarried fathers.

She added that said one of the issues currently being considered by Law Reform Commission was whether single fathers should get automatic guardianship rights; commission’s report, “Legal Aspects of Family Relationships”,  is due to be published in the next few months.

White warned that the current situation was damaging for fathers, grandparents and children themselves. She spoke of her experiences with fathers’ groups that she had visited in Galway city, saying:

“There is a well of unhappiness out there. Their stories of the family law courts in Ireland, their quest for access to their children and their despair in many cases have prompted me to consider how we deal with this painful issue,” and added, “There needs to be a level playing pitch in the family courts in Ireland. We can no longer be blind to the rights of single and separated fathers and their children.”