Further rights for same-sex parents in pipeline

Enhanced parental rights for same-sex couples could be only months away after a government department and the HSE confirmed it was dependent on the roll-out of training to registrars.

Various laws came into place following the marriage equality referendum three years ago, but some provisions linked to parental rights have still not been enacted — among them parts of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.

One of those would allow for the equal parental rights of the non-birth mother in cases where a married lesbian couple have a child. As things stand, only the birth mother can be registered as a parent, while her spouse can only apply for guardianship after a two-year period.