Fathers group mounts protest outside Four Courts
Scores of men took to the streets of Dublin today to launch a fresh campaign for the rights of unmarried and separated fathers.
The Unmarried Fathers of Ireland called for an immediate review of family law, which they claim is outdated and needs to be brought in line with European legislation.
Specially trained District Court judges should be allowed to sit in family law courts only, the movement said.
The group staged a protest outside Dublin's Four Courts to launch a campaign to abolish the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, which they claim has stripped fathers of their natural rights for the last 44 years.
Ray Kelly, founder of The Unmarried Fathers of Ireland, said a number of fathers feel they are unfairly treated in the courts process.
He expressed concerns that judges work between criminal cases and family law cases, and asked that they be allowed to specialise in family law issues.
"We need judges trained in family law and basic child and family physiology to deal with family disputes only," he said.
"Fathers that want to see their children are not criminals.
"Outdated laws, created over the past 80 years, do not reflect the current diversity of the family unit in Ireland."
A report published last year on the Irish family law system made 45 recommendations to improve the service.
Dr Carol Coulter stated that judges should engage in more training and are assigned to family law circuits for defined periods so that judicial expertise and consistency can be developed.
The report also called on the Government to establish a dedicated, full-time family court division of the Circuit Court.
