Santa's bag of tricks cannot end the isolation and exclusion felt by fathers over Ireland's family laws, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mr Brennan said today.
He told a fathers' rights conference in Dublin he was committed to sensible reform of family legislation. The minister said he wanted to deliver a social welfare system that met the needs of the individual, rather than being guided by rules and regulations that blurred the real purpose.
He said research showed many men were barred from parenting by a system they saw as sexist and anti-father.
"What it means in simple terms is that one-size welfare does not fit all," he said. "I did not come here today with a Santa bag of solutions. This is the real world and the issues involved are complex and emotive. It will take time, patience, honesty and solid and sensible reforms."
The 'Being a Father at Christmas' conference heard how fathers had complained dated family laws were responsible for only allowing fathers restrictive access to their children which threatened relationships.
The minister called for changes in the law to allow young fathers to get more involved with their partner and child instead of being deterred from becoming part of the child's life. "We need to ensure that the system does not, as a matter of routine, discriminate against fathers when the issue of custody is being addressed," he said. "Care needs to be taken that each case is treated separately and on its own merits."
The minister said that he was working to ensure families and family life was recognised as a distinct policy area in its own right in his department.
"Yesterday in the Dail, I spoke about the role of the department and of the need for it to regularly monitor the pulse of our changing society and to be in a position to respond to those changes," he said.
An inter-Departmental report on a way forward for family support strategies will be published early next year.
Mr Brennan said it would look at the need for continuity and stability in family life, parenting supports, caring for relatives and encouraging a bigger role for fathers in parenting. He added that in the lead up to Christmas emotions would be running high among fathers who could not see their children when they wished and he said memories of happier times would be clouded by the causes of their separation.
PA