ABOUT 70 unmarried and separated fathers marched in Dublin at the weekend in an annual event to highlight their problems accessing their children.
Dressed in Santa suits, the men marched from Dolphin House family law court in Temple Bar to O’Connell Bridge, where 25 wreaths were thrown into the Liffey. Each represented a father who, according to protesters, had taken their own life because of their access issues.
Ray Kelly, founder of the Unmarried and Separated Fathers, welcomed the proposal from the Law Reform Commission that unmarried fathers should be presumed automatically to be a guardian of their children, but said this did not go far enough. He said fathers should also be granted access automatically.
“There also an issue about maintenance. How can a father on social welfare be expected to pay maintenance? That would push them under the poverty line. I’m not saying a father shouldn’t give maintenance but there are ways he can other than money.”
He also called for State funding for the organisation, which he said had about 5,000 members, saying it was “an equality issue”.
