Constitutional provisions on the family need to be rebalanced to ensure fathers have equal rights during marriage and its dissolution, according to the Men's Council of Ireland.
The umbrella body for men's groups in Ireland described as "an absolute disgrace" the manner in which fathers were being treated by the family courts.
It said the Constitution denied equality of sexes, and encouraged spouses to use the courts as a first, rather than a last, resort.
To rectify the latter problem, the group suggested inserting new conditions for divorce in Article 41 3.2, requiring separating spouses to first complete a "families-in-transition programme" and receive certification from an accredited mediator to say there was no prospect of the parties reaching agreement.
Aim Family Services, a Dublin-based counselling body, also called for enhanced rights for fathers, saying a natural father should "in equity" have an automatic right to guardianship of his child.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the committee, Denis O'Donovan TD (FF), revealed that it had made a complaint to the Garda about the alleged harassment and intimidation of its staff.
After members of the Mother and Child Campaign walked out of the committee in protest on Thursday, Mr O'Donovan said that staff members had been subjected to "verbal and other types of harassment" in recent weeks.
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