Families Need Fathers (Northern Ireland)

FNFNI is chiefly concerned with the problems of maintaining a child's relationship with both parents during and after family breakdown

Families Need Fathers seeks to obtain, for the children, the best possible blend of both parents in the lives of children; enough for the children to realise that both parents are fully involved in their lives. Legally, parents should be of equal status.
Responsibilities and obligations, caring and financial, should be fairly shared between the parents.

Families Need Fathers is firstly a social care organisation, helping parents whose children's relationship with them is under threat. We offer information, advice and support services for parents on how to do the best for their children.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland operates a separate jurisdiction to those of England and Wales and Scotland. Court forms for Northern Ireland are available online.

The Children Act 1989 was brought into operation in Northern Ireland (with some differences) by the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

However, the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (NI) Order 1998 which deals with residence orders and parental responsibility, includes the following Article:

Residence and contact orders and domestic violence

12A

(1) Where a court is considering whether to make a residence or contact order in favour of a prohibited person, the court shall consider whether the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering any harm through seeing or hearing ill-treatment of another person by the prohibited person.

(2) A person is a prohibited person for the purposes of paragraph (1) if either he is or the court considers that he should be prohibited by a non-molestation order under the Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order from molesting another person.

(3) Paragraph (1) is without prejudice to Article 3 [the welfare check-list. . . ] .

In July 1999 the Office of Law Reform issued a consultation paper on Parental Responsibility for Unmarried Fathers and Court Procedures for the Determination of Paternity. This suggested that Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 will provide legal grounds to challenge discrimination in the family courts. This section contains the following statutory duty on public authorities:

75. (1) A public authority shall in carrying out its functions relating to Northern Ireland have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity-

(a) between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation;

(b) between men and women generally. . .

Read the FNF Response to the consultation paper on Parental Responsibility for Unmarried Fathers and Court Procedures for the Determination of Paternity (October 1999).

See the Equality Commission, The Childrens’ Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission.

Another good point of contact for men generally in Northern Ireland is the Men's
Project at the Parents Advice Centre at http://www. mensproject.org/ They
have a directory of people who work with men in Northern Ireland at
http://www. mensproject.org/mendir /index. html .

Other relevant regulations include:

Family Law Reform (NI) Order 1997
Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) Regulations (NI) 1978
Matrimonial and Family Proceedings (NI) Order 1989
Children (Allocation of Proceedings)(NI) Order 1996

Northern Ireland also has its own Northern Ireland Child Support Agency which is subject to the Child Support (NI) Order 1991 and Child Support (NI) Order 1995.
See also the Northern Ireland Office website, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Court Service for further information.
See also the Northern Ireland Assembly website.