Family law changes to prioritise children

Significant changes to family law have been agreed by Cabinet which will extend guardianship rights to same- sex couples and cohabiting partners.

The changes will prioritise the needs of children and modernise laws for married and unmarried parents as well as relatives.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Children and Family Relationship Bill was “the most important change to family law since the foundation of the State”.

Family and children’s advocacy groups welcomed the bill which will be published this week and begin its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas next week.

Changes include that:

- A parent’s spouse or partner of not less than three years can apply to become a guardian where he or she has parented the child for at least 2 years;

- Unmarried fathers can become guardians if they have lived with the child’s mother for 12 months, including at least three following the child’s birth;

- Grandparents can get more access to children where family relationships break down;

- The parents of a donor-conceived child will be the birth mother and partner where the latter has agreed to be a parent through assisted human reproduction and where the status of the donor is clear;

- A court can also appoint a person as child’s guardian if nobody has been responsible for a child’s day-to-day care for more than a year and no guardian will do so.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said there was no question of rushing the bill through. The Government want to have all 170 sections of it passed by the end of March. She said the issues were “entirely different” from May’s referendum on same-sex marriage and that groups should not try and conflate them. There was also no concern about the constitutionality of the legislation, she said.

But Ray Kinsella with the Mothers and Fathers Matter organisation argued the bill would promote situations where children could be intentionally denied a mother or father. The group claim the bill will undermine the status of marriage in the Constitution.

Mr Kinsella claimed TDs would be whipped or forced to vote according to Government orders.

The children’s charity Barnardos said it would lead to greater equality for children, no matter who is bringing them up. CEO Fergus Finlay said: “Every child needs love, security, stability, and safety if he or she is to grow, and this bill is an important step in that direction.”

Dr Geoffrey Shannon, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, said changes would affect “hundreds of thousands of families”.

The legislation received cross-party support in the Dáil. Fianna Fáil did warn however that the complex legislation must not be rushed, despite the fact that senior Government members will be absent for several days in March as part of the exodus abroad for St Patrick’s Day missions.

Other measures will allow children who reach 18 the ability to trace their genetic parents, through a database.

Rules will be also be changed whereby maintenance must be provided by a partner when they become a guardian.