What is Child Access
Access is contact between a child and its parent or other relative with whom the child does not live. It can be physical in the sense of the child seeing their parent or relative in person or it can be by means of a letter, telephone or other form of electronic communication. It can also mean having the right to visit and spend time with a child and to take them out for an agreed length of time.
What happens when parents separate?
When parents of a child separate they can make informal arrangements so that the other parent can have access to their child on a regular basis without having to go to Court.
Where the parents cannot agree to an informal arrangement, either parent can ask the Court to decide which parent will have custody of the child and what access the other parent will have.
Who can apply for Child Access
An unmarried father can apply for access whether or not he is a guardian. He can do this even if his name is not on the the child’s birth certificate, or where his application for joint guardianship has been refused.
The Children Act, 1997 gives any person related to the child by blood or by adoption, such as grandparents, the right to apply to the District Court for permission to apply for access. This could also apply to a partner or spouse of the child’s mother or father who may have lived with the child and acted (in loco parentis) in the place of a parent. Parents or relatives of a child in the care of the Health Service Executive can also apply for access.
How to make an application for access
Most applications for access are made in the District Court.
Access for others, including Grandparents
A grandparent, or any person related to a child including by adoption, or who has acted as a parent, may apply to the local District Court for access to the child.
Initial Advice Consultation
Contact Details:
1. Call us on 052 61 21999 between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm – Monday to Friday.
2. Email us – info@clearysolicitors.com – with a contact number and we will call you back.
3. Fill out our online Enquiry Form.
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