THE GOVERNMENT HAS no plans to make paternity testing mandatory.
In light of a proposed new law that will make the naming of fathers on birth certificates mandatory, Tánaiste Joan Burton told the Dáil she would not be requiring the tests.
The Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2014 was published by Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Burton after Cabinet approval earlier this month.
Last week, she told the Dáil that the purpose of the bill was to protect the rights of the child. However, she told Fine Gael’s Brendan Griffin, that mandatory paternity testing was not part of that plan.
“The fundamental objective of the provision is to ensure that a father’s details are included in the record of the child’s birth. This will underpin the rights of the child under EU legislation to have access to the details of their identity.
“It is not intended to introduce mandatory paternity testing for registration of on birth certificates.”
Current legislation does not require the father’s name to be provided at the time of registering the birth.
The Bill would make it compulsory for this information to be provided. Provisions are made in the Bill for not providing the father’s name in exceptional circumstances.
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