The Law Reform Commission has published a new consultation paper [1] called ‘Legal Aspects of Family Relationship’ which, among other things, deals with the rights, or lack thereof, of unmarried fathers, and others who are involved in the care of children, for example, grandparents.
The report recommends a number of possible approaches to the above categories. For example, it recommends either that it be made much easier for unmarried fathers to obtain legal guardianship over their children, or that they be given automatic guardianship. The Iona Institute hopes to produce its own response to the consultation paper in due course.
The Irish Times editorialises [2] about the paper today and in typical fashion the paper throws its lot in with the politically correct view of family life in Ireland today.
It observes in passing, for example, that one in three births now take place outside marriage but appears to view this as completely unproblematic.
What is lost on the editorial writer is that there would be far fewer unmarried fathers seeking their rights if there were far fewer unmarried fathers. Marriage remains by far and away the best way to connect a father to his children. Unmarried fathers probably should have their rights strengthened, but the best general way to help the fathers, the children, and the mothers of those children, is to promote marriage.
I can’t remember The Irish Times ever calling on the government to promote and finding ways of strengthening marriage. It has always and ever supported calls to strengthen other family forms thereby diminishing the special status of marriage.
In fact, the rise of the unmarried father is partly The Irish Times’ own doing because it has always supported the liberal attitudes that have helped to disconnect parenthood from marriage to the great detriment of children, and men and women for that matter.
The Irish Times leader writer points out that the family in Ireland has changed a lot (it says ‘very radically’ which is a slight exaggeration) in the last 25 years. It doesn’t seem to think this is a bad thing at all. It doesn’t seem to think this creates any problems that can’t be solved by a further liberalisation of our laws and social attitudes.
It would never occur to The Irish Times to throw its weight behind calls to strengthen and promote marriage. Nor, for that matter, would it occur to the Law Reform Commission.