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Legislation to Support Families

Guardianship means having the right and responsibility to be involved in making major decisions about the upbringing of a child.

 If married both parents have automatic guardianship over the child. The legislation in relation to the rights of unmarried fathers changed under the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 and the father can get guardianship of his child through the pathways listed in the booklet hyperlinked here. It also explains the guardianship rights of parents of children born through Donor Assisted Human Reproduction and the rights of step parents.

Jan-2024-Treoir-Unmarried-Fathers.pdf

The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 has also made provisions in regards to other important people in the child’s life to apply for guardianship through the court.

Details of same are outlined in the hyperlink listed below.

Guardianship Information – Treoir

Access and custody

Custody refers to the day to day care and welfare of a child under the age of 18 years old.  Whereas access refers to the right of a child and a parent and/or guardian who do not live together to spend time together.  This right can also be granted to relatives and others. Please see further information re same below.

Registering a child’s birth

  • It is important to register a child’s birth in order to receive the child benefit payment.
  • There is a registration office in the UHG, which operates between the hours of 10:00 to 12:30 Monday to Friday and offers a walk in service. You can ask your healthcare professional about the location of this office.
  • Otherwise, to register a birth, you need to book an appointment to go to a civil registration service. It is free to register a birth. Bring all documents required to your appointment including photo ID for the purposes of a Statutory Declaration. Without them, they will not be able to register the birth.
  • If you do not have access to a printer, you can email births@welfare.ie to request hard copies of the forms needed to complete birth registration remotely. However, you will need to forward a copy of the photo ID; some post offices may provide this service at a small cost.
  • More information on this topic can be access through Registration of Births – Treoir.