Keogan welcomes moves to ensure right of unmarried fathers to be named on their children's birth certs

Senator Sharon Keogan has welcomed news that the government has set a timeframe for the application of the law which ensures the right of unmarried fathers to be named on their children’s birth certificates.

The Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, told the Seanad that he expects that the law will be put into action “before the end of quarter two this year.”

“In 2014, the law regarding Civil Registration was updated,” the Meath-based senator stated. “It required that unmarried mothers would be obliged to provide the details of the child’s biological father if he was not present. To date, however, the government and the HSE have not put this law into practice.

“This has meant that for the past decade, in the case of unmarried parents, the registration of the child’s father was near-totally at the discretion of the mother.

“Unmarried fathers who were not registered on their children’s birth certs could only be included if they pursued court action. The application of this law will help to safeguard the rights of unmarried fathers and ensure that children will be aware of their parentage. This will affect a huge and growing section of our population, as over the past decade unmarried parents have gone from accounting for a third to nearly half of all births.”

Senator Keogan added: “I will continue to pursue the Minister for Social Protection in the coming months to ensure that this law becomes a reality as soon as possible.”