Marriage Equality welcomes Darren Kennedy's "Gay Daddy"

19 Sep 2012

GayDaddy

Today Marriage Equality welcomed "Gay Daddy", a documentary featuring Darren Kennedy, which was screened last night on RTE 2 as part of the network's Reality Bites series. The hour-long documentary explored parenting options open to same-sex couples in Ireland, including surrogacy, co-parenting, adoption and fostering.

Marriage Equality Chair Grainne Healy said "We want to thank Darren Kennedy, the families involved and the team behind 'Gay Daddy' for their initiative in highlighting the diversity of families in Ireland, and the challenges facing gay men who wish to become parents. The reality - as this filmed showed - is that gay and lesbian couples are, and will continue to be, loving parents to their children. Unfortunately our current legislation has created a legal vacuum for these children, who have no legal relationship with their non-biological parent."

Census figures released earlier this year showed 230 same-sex families in Ireland, though Marriage Equality believe this to be an under-estimate. Marriage Equality's 2010 report "Voices of Children" drew on personal testimony of young adult children with lesbian parents, and looked at how the lack of legal protection for themselves and their families affected their daily lives. A key recommendation from the report was that the Irish Government must establish legal recognition of children in same-sex families, through appropriate amendments to adoption and guardianship laws, and the introduction of civil marriage rights for same sex couples.

"The Government has committed itself to looking at the provision of marriage for same-sex couples in the upcoming Constitutional Convention," added Ms Healy. "When this issue is being debated and discussed around the country in the very near future, we would strongly encourage everyone to listen to these children and their parents, and take their best interests into account. We would like to see an Ireland in which human rights for ALL children are a lived reality."