Labour publishes Guardianship of Children Bill 2010’
Issued : Monday 15 March, 2010
The Labour Party has published a Private Members Bill, Guardianship of Children Bill, 2010 that will make significant changes to the current law regarding guardianship of children and that will, in particular, enhance the rights of non-marital fathers in regard to their children.
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Summary
At present the child's right to know and be cared for by both of his or her parents is not fully respected in Irish law insofar as (a) there is no automatic registration of an unmarried father on the child's birth certificate (b) an unmarried father has no automatic guardianship role.
The Labour Bill is designed to give effect to the rights of non-marital families under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
In order to ensure that the child's rights are vindicated, the Bill will confer an automatic guardianship role on natural fathers in respect of children born after the passing of the Act (with specified exceptions) and will give the parties or the court a power to terminate that role in specified circumstances.
The Bill will also provides that the registration of the father's name on a birth certificate will be compulsory in all cases after the Act would come into effect.
