New definition of “Father” under the Children and Family Relationship Act 2015

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Created: Sunday, October 04 2015 09:34

The Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015 (“2015 Act”) was signed by the President of Ireland on 06 April 2015. Its provision will not come into force until formal commencement orders are signed.

The 2015 Act has introduced many reforms in family law, most notably amending the definition of “Father” as (historically) defined under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 (“1964 Act”). The 1964 Act was the principal piece of legislation which governed custody, guardianship and access to children.

A Guardian is the person who has the right to make decisions in relation to the rearing of a child in relation to lifestyle, education, religion etc. A natural mother is an automatic Guardian of a child as is the Father, if he is married to the mother, at the time of the birth. In circumstances, where the Father is not married to the mother, at the time of the birth, he can subsequently become Guardian by consent with the child’s mother or under Court or Adoption Order. Under the 1964 Act, the natural father of an illegitimate infant was not an automatic Guardian.

Section 43 of the 2015 Act defines as Father as follows:

‘father’ includes a male adopter under an adoption order but subject to section 11(4), does not include the father of a child who has not married that child’s mother unless— (a) an order under section 6A is in force in respect of that child, (b) the circumstances set out in subsection (3) of this section apply, (c) the circumstances set out in subsection (4) of this section apply, (d) the circumstances set out in subsection (4A) of this section apply, or (e) the father is a guardian of the child by virtue of section 6D;”

This section extends the definition of Father to include a situation whereby the mother & father are not married to each other but have been cohabiting together for not less than twelve consecutive months to include three consecutive months following the birth of the child.

In addition, section 6(c) allows other parties to apply for guardianship in circumstances whereby the applicant is over 18 years of age, is married/civil partner/cohabited with the parent of the child for 3 years or has provided day to day care for the child for a 12 consecutive months as a de facto parent.

The Act further stipulates that of paramount importance to any Guardianship application will be the best interests of the child.