DNA testing should be offered here

The number of Irish people seeking a DNA test to verify the paternity of children has more than doubled in the past five years. At least 1,000 tests are undertaken each year.

In many cases, mothers use the test to prove the identity of the father of the child in order to obtain maintenance payments, while many fathers take the test to prove paternity in order to gain access to their children.

The need for such tests is clearly growing, as one-in-three Irish births are now outside marriage. The percentage of lone parents has increased by 8.8% in the past ten years, to 153,900.