Two men before court claiming to be father of girl (2)

Two men have come before the family law court claiming to be the father of the same girl.

Both men have applied to the court for guardianship of the toddler and the two have agreed to undertake DNA tests to determine who is the father of the two and a half year old girl.

In September, the first man – an ex-boyfriend of the mother – applied for guardianship of the girl. This was followed by the husband of the mother also applying for guardianship.

The husband married the woman subsequent to the birth of the baby where automatic guardianship doesn’t apply.

Yesterday, the married couple appeared in court and the ex-boyfriend wasn’t present for the short hearing.

All three are foreign nationals and addressing the couple yesterday, the judge said: “This is an unusual case where we have two men both claiming the paternity of one baby.”

The ex-boyfriend has agreed to pay for the DNA tests.

All parties cannot be identified as the case took place in a family law court.

The paternity test is the use of genetic finger-printing and establishes genetic proof whether a man is the biological father of the child.

The husband told the court that he has been unable to have the DNA tests carried out by his local GP. He said that he will have to go to Limerick to undergo the DNA test.

The judge said that the matter should be adjourned to January 15th to determine guardianship and allow the DNA tests take place in the meantime. He told the husband “if the hospital is not in touch with you, the Court Registrar will assist you”.