MIGRANT mothers who are returning to their own countries because of the recession and Irish women who are emigrating to find work are leaving the fathers of their children without any say in where the children live or whether they will ever see them again.
Limerick family law solicitor, Verena Tarpey, says she is seeing more men desperate to have access to their children or even to stop them being taken to live somewhere else.
“But fathers who are not married to the children’s mother have no rights unless they have officially been declared guardians,” she said.
Ms Tarpey runs a busy clinic in Limerick city and has had to tell fathers they “don’t have a leg to stand on”.
“I have seen three cases like this in the last month. Because of changing financial circumstances, a lot of women who came here to work during the boom are going back. Equally, Irish women who are being forced to emigrate can take the children with them. The father can do nothing about it”.
The Limerick organisation ‘Families’ confirmed that the problem is one which they have also encountered.
Joe Wallace, chairman of the group, said that fathers “don’t really have any rights, even those who are legally guardians. It creates a huge problem. If the mother wants to leave the country, either for work or for a holiday, the father has no way of knowing if she will come back.
“The only thing he can do is get a court order preventing her from taking the children out of the country and that very much depends on the judge at the time”.
Mr Wallace said that legislation concerning unmarried fathers “has been introduced piecemeal over the years but has never really been copper fastened”.
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