Bill to bring ‘radical reform’

As a family law expert, Opposition spokesman on children for Fine Gael, a leading children’s rights advocate and latterly as Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter has had an insight from most perspectives on the evolution of children’s rights in Ireland.

Earlier this year, he put those perspectives into practice when he published a draft of the Children and Family Relationships Bill, described by some as the most radical reform of Irish children’s law in a century.

Shatter says the Bill was “one of the issues that I would have had, I suppose, on an agenda of necessary reform personally for a number of years”.

“It was one of the areas that really badly needed reform and covered a range of issues concerning children that for too long have been ignored.”

While most of the attention on the Bill thus far has focused on measures to allow same-sex couples in civil partnerships to adopt, as well as providing legal clarity to cases where children are born through assisted reproduction and surrogacy, the Minister says the Bill’s reforms are much broader.

“It does a range of really important things,” he said.

“Our law on guardianship, custody of children, access to children has really been substantially unchanged since 1964. There were two minor amendments made to it but it really doesn’t adequately address the reality of Irish family life anymore.

“There’s a need for our law to recognise the new family forms to ensure that children are treated equally regardless of the circumstances surrounding their conception and birth.

“Children can’t control that, and there was a need to ensure that where disputes arise concerning guardianship, custody and access to children that our law really is up to speed – it really isn’t at the moment.”

The Bill, which Shatter hopes will be passed by the end of the year, is also designed to protect the Constitutional amendment on children passed in the 2012 referendum.

“It makes the best interests of the child the important test and it details factors the courts must have regard to in great detail in determining best interest issues.”

At the time of interview, the Minister was awaiting submissions from the Oireachtas Justice Committee and the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman, as well as a decision from the Supreme Court on the State’s appeal against a decision that the genetic parents of twins born to a surrogate are entitled to be registered on their birth certificates as their legal parents.

The input of the Children’s Ombudsman into such legislation since the establishment of the office, as well as its input across the various arms of State and government, ensures the perspective of the child is taken into account, Shatter adds.

“The Ombudsman for Children is something I was very much in favour of before it was even created. I think Emily Logan has done a fantastic job. She’s established it, she’s given it weight, she has exercised a role which is really important in children’s issues in the context of the manner in which government agencies and departments and bureaucracies may make global decisions and not recognise their impact on children, or just make individual decisions which cause stress and upset either to children or parents of children. And until that office existed there was nowhere to go with that.

“On occasions, I know the office may wish us to do more. I have certain financial parameters within which to operate depending on issues but it’s of great help that office is there and they make that input.”

As well the Children and Family Relationships Bill, Shatter says the reform of the family courts system is also on his agenda, with a draft bill expected to be published later this year.

“That is the other thing that is going on that is relevant to the Children’s Ombudsman. The objective is to enact legislation for new, unified family courts structures which are due in 2015 and fill the gaps in what is there at the moment.

“It will include bringing the District Court childcare work into a family court structure. For the first time the family court will have the back-up assessment services and, I hope, the professional assistance that the judiciary require.”

However, while the Minister is enthusiastic about his latest reform, others in Government may be less so.

“And that’s going to require a very interesting conversation between myself and Minister Howlin because we are going to have to resource it,” Shatter adds with a smile.