Single fathers demand access to children

Single fathers will march on the Four Courts in Dublin today to demand more rights of access to their children.

The Unmarried Fathers of Ireland group claims single fathers are being discriminated against by the courts and by family law.

Spokesman for the group, Ray O’Kelly, says restrictions on single fathers' access to their children is causing distress to his members.

"Just before Christmas, we lost five of our members through suicide - men who were desperately trying to seek access to their children - but access is being denied by the courts and by society itself.

"To lose a child is like a death," he said.