A man seeking access to two children fathered by his former partner told the Family Law Court on Monday he was acting in their best interests as he had always been “a Dad to the two”.
The man, who has no biological link to the two children, has made an application for 10 access visits to see the two young children each year.
The man is named on the baptismal certs as a parent to the two but not on their birth certs and the two children were born to surrogate mothers overseas during the man’s years-long relationship with the father of the two.
The two men were at no stage married and the father of the two children is “vigorously opposing” any access for his former partner to the two children.
RM Block
The applicant told Judge Alec Gabbett that he was making the application “in the best interests” of the two children “and that is why I am here today. I was always a Dad to the two.”
He said that while together with his partner, they and the two young children “were a family unit”.
The applicant said that he had “a very strong bond” with the two children, who are both aged under five.
“I did all the tasks of feeding. I changed their nappies. I did night feeds and there is a bond when a baby is looking up at you at 2am in the morning. I was co-parenting.”
The applicant said that he was not applying for guardianship but for 10 access visits each year to see the two. He said that he wanted to be a “godfather” or “uncle” figure in the children’s lives.
The man became emotional a number of times in the witness box when recalling times spent with the two children, and a 10-minute montage of home videos of the then couple and the babies together was played to the court. After viewing the montage, Judge Gabbett remarked: “They did look happy.”
In response to questions by his counsel, Emily Ryan BL, the applicant said that he travelled out to the overseas location around the time the babies were born to two different surrogate mother to support his then partner.
The applicant stated that he ended the relationship and has had six access visits with the two children since but the last one was in January of this year.
In evidence, the father, who has a new partner, told the court: “I don’t want to bring a stranger into the children’s lives now and that is what he is to them – a stranger.”
“He was just my partner. He was going out with someone who had children,” he said. “I did show the children a picture of him last week to see if they would recognise him and they didn’t.”
Judge Gabbett said the questions that have been addressed in the case from a legal perspective were whether the applicant resided with the children, did he have a meaningful relationship with the children and will it disrupt the children’s lives if access is granted?
Judge Gabbett said that he could not take into account the views of the two children as they are too small.
Elaine Houlihan BL, representing the father, stated the applicant did not reside with her client and his children and lived mainly at his own address elsewhere in Ireland when they were in a relationship.
Judge Gabbett adjourned the case to next month.
