Advice on the General Scheme of the Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014

The Minister for Justice and Equality published the General Scheme of the Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014 on 30 January 2014. The aim of the proposed legislation is to put in place a legal architecture to underpin diverse parenting situations and to provide legal clarity on parental rights and responsibilities in such situations.

In previous advice to Government relating to proposals to reform aspects of child and family law – specifically with respect to the Civil Partnership Bill 2009 and the Adoption Bill 2009 – the OCO stressed the need for legislation to reflect and provide for the reality of children’s lives.

We believe that there are a number of areas in which the legislation could be enhanced to better serve the interests of children and conform more fully with Ireland’s international human rights obligations, namely with regard to: assisted reproduction, including surrogacy; guardianship, custody and access; safeguarding the interests of children; making parenting orders work; and child maintenance.

• May 2014
• Type: Advice
• Topic: Family law