In what is widely seen as a landmark amendment, law changes will now allow unmarried fathers to become guardians of a child.
The ruling also makes it easier for relatives and step-parents to become guardians.
Advocacy groups for children’s rights have welcomed the changes, which include:
- Unmarried fathers automatically become guardians if they live for 12 months with the child’s mother, including three months following a child’s birth. The change is not retrospective;
- A parent’s spouse or civil partner, of not less than thee years, can apply for custody where he or she has shared parenting of the child for two years;
- A grandparent or other relative can apply to court for custody where he or she has cared for the child from day to day for at least 12 months and the child has no parent or guardian;.
- A child co-parented by civil partners will have the same protections as under marriage;
- The court can impose enforcement orders where a guardian is denied access, requiring he or she get compensatory time with the child or that both parties attend parenting programmes.
These changes have now been signed into law by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.