There is a need for reform of family law based on equality between parents regardless of gender or marital status, Minister of State for Equality Mary White said today.
Ms White was speaking at the opening of a new office for the charity Families, Fathers and Friends who provide support for separated and single fathers.
The new office, at the Guinness Enterprise Centre in Dublin, is the charity’s second following on from its Galway base.
The charity provides counselling, mediation, advice, information and other services to fathers.
Ms White said many men in Ireland suffer difficulties from relationship breakdowns and lack access to their children for various reasons. She said “not being able to participate fully in a child's life is painful for any committed parent”.
She called for the reform of family law to happen in parallel with supports and services for fathers.
And Ms White said she looked forward to meeting with the Minister for Justice to advance legislation regarding last month’s Law Reform Commission's report on the legal aspects of family relationships.
The report included proposals that mothers and fathers, including non-marital fathers, have automatic joint parental responsibility for their children.