As acceptance of the concept of ‘Parental Equality’ increases in the general public, and even within the professions and the Judiciary, there is growing evidence that more insidious methods of peripheralising one parent (usually the father) are being employed by those "possessive" parents who feel that they ‘own’ children. An ever-increasing number of those who come to Parental Equality for help say that their children are being turned against them. They, and their children, are victims of Parental Alienation.

Parental Alienation is a form of emotional child abuse and should be seen as such. Unfortunately, too many people see it as a legitimate and acceptable tactic in the ugly battlefield call the Family Law system. The long term damaging effects it can have on children are impossible to calculate. The unspeakable grief caused to the absent parent is traumatic and can, in many cases, be fatal. The methods used to alienate the absent parent are many and varied, but usually are subtle and effective. Because of this it is a very difficult problem to deal with. Firstly, because it is usually done very subtly it is very difficult to prove. Even if it is proven the Courts can find themselves almost powerless to deal with it. In America some psychiatrists advocate removal of the child from the alienating parent and placement with the absent parent. Contact with the alienating parent is then slowly re-established and closely monitored to ensure the damaging behaviour does not recur. It is unlikely that such measures will be adopted in this country in the near future as the vast majority of offenders are mothers.

While this phenomenon has long been recognised in the USA and is being increasingly recognised in the U.K. There appears to be a stubborn reluctance among the Judiciary and the professionals to recognise it in this Country. The Irish solution to this difficult Irish problem appears to be, pretend it doesn’t exist. The experiences, and reports undertaken, in the cases of a number of people who have been involved with a ‘professional’ family assessor recently,

(TO PAGE 2)

(FROM PAGE 1)

show a remarkable similarity. In all cases they consist of either a refusal to recognise ‘parental alienation’ despite the evidence or absolution for the offender on the grounds that the alienating parent is unaware of what s/he is doing. The alienated parent is invariable blamed for the problem regardless even thought s/he may have no control over it and/or little or no contact or influence with the children.

Parental alienation is one of the most serious problems within the Family Law System and failure to recognise it as such makes it even more so. There is little doubt that with the increased incidence of children giving evidence (Children Act 1997) the problem of parental alienation will become more widespread and more acute. It is therefore imperative that organisations like Parental Equality highlight the problem and put pressure on those in positions of power to recognise and deal with this most insidious form of child abuse.

Sir, - It is official: men are the superior gender. This is not my opinion, it is the opinion of the judiciary and the Government of Ireland. Recently the Supreme Court supported the Government when stating that a man who had been deserted by his wife was not entitled to the same payment as a woman deserted by her husband.

At first this seems like the judiciary and the Government are discriminating against men. That is not the end of it. In the judgement, the court said that a man was not entitled to deserted spouse's payment because he did not need as much help as a

woman in the same situation. So let's look at what happened.

The man had been working in the building trade and his wife was taking care of the house and children. He was deserted by his wife and found that he could not do both jobs so he had stayed at home to take care of the children and the home. This man's normal position in the family would have been as a provider. So he changed his position from provider to home and child carer. The courts have now found that a man in this position has a superior capability to a woman who has done this all her married life, or a woman who finds herself in the same position as he did. The court rules that in a woman's case, she would need help, but a man would not.

This can only be taken to mean that the man is of superior ability. This gets worse. Not only does the Supreme Court say that women are inferior to men, it goes on to discriminate against children. This man's two children, who, through no fault of their own, found themselves without one parent, are provided with less money for their care simply because their mother deserted their father instead of their father deserting their mother. So, it is official: our Constitution is sexist, our Government is sexist, and our judiciary is sexist. For good measure, they all discriminate against children. God help us all.

- Yours, etc.,

TONY TUITE, PRO, Parental Equality, Dublin Road, Dundalk.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CIVIL LIBERTIES ? IRELAND ! HUMAN RIGHTS

Sharp Focus on IN CAMERA Hearings

The recent (April 1998) Supreme Court decision in favour of reporting on court cases, was a measurable reinforcement of the democratic process. While the benefits for the media are immediately apparent, the benefits to the public interest and to the monitoring of quality standards in the legal process, are more fundamental. The unanimous decision of all judges in favour of an open, transparent legal process, confirmed that private, unreported court hearings should only occur in the narrowest of circumstances.

In the light of this judgement, I believe that it is time to properly evaluate the operation of the in camera process in Family Law cases, where court hearings are effectively held in secret. A soft, hazy focus, with shallow analysis of the practical benefits to public and private interests, has effectively led to a blanket ban on the public’s right to know, evaluate, and comment on what actually goes on in the Family Law courts. Against this background of censorship and ignorance, the Irish people were recently asked to vote on the Divorce issue. Couples with marital difficulties face an austere and frightening black hole when entering into the Family Law court system.

The fundamental issues of democracy and human rights are more pertinent in the In Camera Family Law system. While the case considered by the Supreme Court was originally stimulated by a ban on media reporting of the court case concerned, there was no denial of access by ordinary members of the public to the Court hearings. There was no restriction on the taking of stenographic records of evidence and decisions made in that court. The Family Law court, on the other hand is a virtual star chamber. The unfortunate use of the word "In Camera" to describe the process, misleads the vast majority of the public to presume that In Camera cases are actually recorded and documented, as the word suggests. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The details of the Rules of In Camera are undefined, and their application across a range of cases is both inequitable and inconsistent. No one person or group of people actually knows what goes on across the spectrum of Family Law hearings. There are no accurate, stenographic records kept of evidence or judgements given, in all Family Law hearings. It is not common practice for Family Law judges to give reasons for, nor to explain their judgements. Recently, a lay litigant has even been refused the right to use a professional stenographer to accurately record the contents of a Family Law hearing.

In summation, there are no accurate, written records of Family Law court hearings, and the contents of such hearings cannot be discussed outside the courts. This unchecked, secret, star chamber, In Camera Family Law process, is a perfect, fermenting ground for a dilution of democracy and a denial of human rights. Last week, Supreme Court Judge Keane said, "The most benign climate for the growth of corruption and abuse of powers, whether by the judiciary or members of the legal profession, is one of secrecy".

In light of the substantial and increasing level of relationship and family problems in our society, it behooves all arms of the media to stimulate investigative debate on the theory and practice of In Camera Family Law hearings. Far from preventing the dissemination of personal and intimate details of relationship problems, the absence of recorded evidence, and the blackout on reporting, actually feed gossip and innuendo, which is far more pervasive and engaging than the truth. Libelous and slanderous character assassinations, inherent among gossip mongers, cannot be countered, due to the legal censorship on Truth.

An analysis of the In Camera system, with a sharper focus and a greater depth of field, is necessary to protect the public interest, the rights of the individual, and to implement a credible quality system in the Family Law courts process.

1 Muirhevna, Dublin Road, Dundalk

The more child-centred Nations favour shared custody. Our Nation has a poor record per capita, in child-welfare. Government has frantically set about introducing laws to guarantee our children's views in parental breakdown. Perhaps Government is attempting to comply with International Law. Prior to 1991, no provision existed in Irish Law, for our Judges to determine the views of our children in such circumstances.

Most children love their parents equally. Irish ‘society’ dictates that shared custody is not an option for children. Society is made up of Social Workers, Probation Officers, Child Psychologists and Psychiatrists: all doing the same job… taking the children’s views into account. They then give their recommendations to the court - usually custody to the mother, who may, very often, not be available to her children due to career/business/work. Documented case histories exist, where children want to spend equal time with both parents and their "Representatives" advise against it.

In many cases, the "Representatives" (States Parties for the child) find no fault with the fathers - some are long-term unemployed. What is the point in Government introducing laws to air the views of children who largely seek equal time with their parents, when States Parties advise against it? It appears repugnant to natural justice, for States Parties to continue in their quest to deny children their basic human right, to be cared for, by both father and mother. Often children are cared for by maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, childminders or whoever is appointed a custodian by the absentee mother.

Our Legislature issues a right and then a States Party removes it. Recent law is meaningless as Parental Equality now possess sufficient copies of states Parties reports, to clearly show that children’s wishes are largely abrogated by the State, irrespective of what laws exist.

Social Worker reports are not usually released to those whom they pertain. Perhaps the Department of Health is afraid of something. It seems the Social Worker reports are not for release in family law to anyone other than the Judge. In that way, the published wishes of our children will never be known.

While PE Cork, currently set about collecting copies of reports to the courts, perhaps Nation-wide, members will consider copying any reports/custody recommendations they possess. We are particularly interested in those reports where the wishes of children were published and subsequently denied by a States Party - be they social Workers, Probation Officers, Psychologists, Psychiatrists or whoever a family law court has appointed to make recommendation. Your co-operation will be appreciated and do send documentation to Head Office at Abbey street, Dublin for the attention of the National Secretary. Likewise, where an Irish family law court has failed to make arrangements for children to see their parents due to ongoing legal proceedings PE need case histories with full supporting documentation - especially in cases where our courts have found no fault with that parent, or have ruled on hearsay.

Cases where limited or supervised access to parent was based upon hearsay, is of special interest especially where States Party hearsay has been published to children’s detriment vis a vis their right to reasonable society with a parent.

Two years ago I found myself on the receiving end of a separation. My wife decided she wanted to end our marriage. That was bad enough, but she also felt quite secure in her conviction that she could take our two boys (then aged seven and four years) with her, which she duly did. I was broken hearted.

I felt like I was thrown into the deepest, blackest hole in God's creation. I was devastated and found myself on many occasions just incapable of holding back the tears. Thanks to the support of my family and friends, I was able to carry on and start to get my life back to some semblance of normality.

I reluctantly accepted that my wife, being an adult, could choose her own destiny - but what really shocked and hurt me was the 'fact' that she could take our boys and it appeared there was nothing I could do about it - not legally. I was powerless. I was amazed at the level of support that was available to her, by the State and society (both real and tacit) in virtually abducting my children. I felt betrayed by the whole 'system'. Over-night, I went from being a loving, caring dad, blessed with sharing in my little sons' day to day lives ....to being some sort of peripheral financial contributor whose contact with my children was to be subject to the whim of an ex-wife and the prejudices of a biased and adversarial legal system. A legal system which would describe my relationship of simple love for my children with words like 'custody', 'guardianship' and 'access'.

That was when I first discovered that it was my gender, rather than myself, which was my handicap. This was a shock to me. This revelation was contrary to everything I had been led to believe about how equality between the sexes had become the norm. I learned that I was not alone in my plight and that there were thousands of men in similar circumstances, many in situations much worse than my own. Many of these men could see no alternative but to accept their fate. Many of these men have been victims of cruel and gross injustices at the hands of the family law courts. They have been effectively silenced and the public kept in the dark because of the adherence to the totally unnecessary "in-camera" rule. Why can't these family law cases be reported on without disclosing the names of the parties involved and thereby maintaining the anonymity of children and parents (as in rape cases for instance) while still letting the public see that justice is (or isn't) being carried out?

I always felt there was something not quite right with regard to equality between the sexes - but I could never quite grasp what it was that was wrong. Men have had such "bad press" for so long - feckless, irresponsible, non-supportive (both financially and emotionally) that this image has transferred itself into the Family Law Courts - this view is clearly supported when one considers the number of sole custody orders automatically granted to mothers without the consent of the fathers of the children. Denying children full access to both their parents is an unacknowledged and subtle form of child abuse.

When relationships between parents breakdown it doesn't mean relationships between the parent and child does also. If anything, a child has even more need to maintain a real relationship with both his or her parents to promote a sense of security so that the child knows he or she is loved unconditionally. This is not a gender issue but a social issue...effecting more and more children every day.

With the efforts made by groups such as Parental Equality, I look forward to the day when all parents are treated equally, when joint custody is the norm, and when power struggles fought out in courts are a thing of the past.

This will be the legacy we can hand down to all our children

Yours sincerely,

A Loving Father (Name with editor)

Grand Parents are often excluded from access to their grandchildren in the unfortunate circumstance of the break-up of a marriage or indeed of the death of one spouse of a marriage. The exclusion can cause emotional and psychological trauma to both grandparents and their grandchildren and this aspect of the problem should inform any attempts to remedy the situation. Although the recent Children’s Act 1997 gave grandparents some rights it is still very limited in scope as under the Irish Constitution the rights of the grandparents cannot interfere with rights of parents. However, while the law does have a role to play I think there should be less emphasis on legal right and more emphasis on dealing with the hurt of children and their grandparents.

This is not an issue, which comes under European law, and although I am aware that in the United States at present they are considering changing the law to give grandparents rights of access-as of right-to their grandchildren it is not yet clear how far this proposal will go.

Parents in general appreciate the role of grandparents but often forget their importance at the time of break-up. The Counselling and Mediation Service could be given a role to play in ensuring that the issue of grandparental access will be dealt with in any agreement, which is made. At present Grandparents Obliterated are fulfilling the counselling role and this should be officially recognised and properly funded. Many of us grew up without knowing our grandparents as unfortunately they did not live to see us. This is the first generation of children and grandparents who have the opportunity of getting to know each other well. This important link should not be broken because parents separate or divorce.

Grand .Parents .Obliterated (GPO) had a stand at the Age Action Exhibition in the R.D.S. on Sunday 11^th October.. There was much valuable information available there from the many organisations which took part

The exhibition was opened by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Ita Greene.. We had many queries about Grand Parenting, will no doubt have some more Senior Citizens seeking information from us in the near future. There were a lot of visitors who had not realised that the problem of Grandparents being excluded from their grand children's lives existed. Our brochures were also snapped up.

Our stand was back to back with Bernie Malone M.E.P., one of the first to support and help us when G.P.O. was seeking legislation for the rights of Grand Parents. This exhibition was a great event and we in G.P.O. were very happy to be involved. The hard work and organising of this huge exhibition was appreciated by all who took part, especially G.P.O. A special Thank You to Darragh Matthews - The co-ordinator. We are certainly looking forward to next year.

The Grand Parents Obliterated support group meeting on the 18^th October 1998 was well attended.

Some grandparents have applied for orders to the Court to give them access to their grandchildren. These court hearings will happen in November, December and January. Two grandparents’ who had had a court hearing were not granted access to their grandchildren and were devastated and felt so helpless. Other grandparent’s comforted them and in doing so they became upset and cried. It was a very grim scene, especially to see and hear a grandfather in his late sixties sob uncontrollably. Oh to have had a Judge present.

One set of grandparents went to mediation on the 21^st and as a result will be reunited soon with their pride and joy, their three grandchildren. This mediation was paid for, a private arrangement. If only mediation was free for grandparent’s so many more happy results could possibly occur.

The usual summertime grandparenting problems were discussed. The First Communion Day, when quite a few grandparents were kept at a distance from the child concerned after the ceremony outside the church. As one grandmother said "Every time I tried to take a photograph of my granddaughter her Mam stood in the way".

The cost of having s solicitor represent grandparents seems to be the main problem for many Grandparents. Some who have free legal aid are terrified at the idea of being in a courthouse in front of a Judge.

This went on for three and a half hours. We heard so many sad and memorable stories at this meeting, and we are in no doubt that we will have to meet much more often to, as one grandfather said, "Share this awful ache inside with others who feel it too".

In Cork there is a G.P.O. support group for grandparents and extended family members and hopefully in the next issue of Parental Equality News we will have a report from Cork.

The 1^st of June 1998 saw the launch of the first Parental Equality course in Family Law. The response to the advertising campaign was overwhelming with 50 applications from people in all walks of life. Many of participants were from other voluntary organisations such as Gingerbread, Parents Alone, and the National Social Services Board. Owing to a lack of space the number of participants was limited to 20 with the 30 other applicants agreeing to be put on a waiting list for the next course. The primary aim of Parental Equality Law courses is impart information and not to advise on individual cases, the course tutor, John Rogers stressed that the participants would not be allowed to bring their own legal problems into the forum. The participants have been happy with this and as a result the courses thus far have been a huge success.

Guest speakers throughout the courses include guests from the Mediation Services, AMEN, MRCS, The Bar Association and Parental Equality and to all those we extend our warmest thanks.

Feedback from the courses has been positive. Parental Equality hope that the increased awareness of the inequalities in the Irish Family Law System will give other voluntary groups the incentive to pursue with added vigour the inequalities in this area.

Finally many thanks to the following people for their invaluable assistance, Clodagh Meade, Fiona Clarke, and Ken Smith

.

By George Ferguson

Dr. Samuel Johnson was a celebrated scholar of the 18^th century. He composed a dictionary. On one occasion, he met a friend who was deeply troubled and this is the advice he offered.

Now that piece of advice might only make you angry at a time when your trouble appeared enormous. However on reflection it could be a very accurate and helpful thought.

Life never stands still. It keeps moving along and carries us with it. I imagine the trouble facing Dr Johnson’s friend as a huge rock, almost totally blocking the road. It remains stark and ugly, but there is just a tiny passage by which a determined person might scrape past. There is also the difficult possibility of clambering over it. If these fail, then a fresh pathway may have to be beaten around it. One way or the other, you can’t stand looking at the dominating rock forever. When you do get past, the rock remains but from the perspective of time and distance it appears smaller.

There are rocks in everyday life. They force changes in life style and that may be uncomfortable, but we are designed to be adaptable. Sometimes, the rocks may cause changes that bring unexpected fulfilment.

Dr. Johnston was right. A twelve-month away, today’s problems may seem exceedingly small. There is life beyond the rock!

This mad place they call earth

Spewing out crazed beings who shatter tiny hearts

For spite

How can they do this?

Nothing is fair

Too late for too many

It could have been so good

Let me linger in the other time, when you and I could hug

We learned it

When we were very small -

my sisters and I

My Mum

a very thorough teacher.

How to deceive my Dad.

Not in the big things you understand -

_just in the small areas,

_the cost of a pair of shoes

_the secretly and carefully planned outing,

appearing spontaneous to Dad.

No words were ever used in this teaching method

except the ritual chant

repeated often

‘Don’t tell your Dad ,

He doesn’t need to know’

My Mum learned it from her Mum

who learned it from her Mum

Because

(we were told)

although men were malleable, pathetic and weak

they needed us to

Pretend that we bowed to their opinions

deferred to their decisions

abided by their ordinances

while we knew all the time

(we hugged the information to ourselves)

that we, the Women, were

The Master Race

The Sisterhood

the ones who controlled everyone’s destiny.

My mother now, she’s still a High Priestess

who excels at her art

While I, am trying for the first time

….to learn

how to treat men as equals

to regard them with respect

to realise that manipulation

is no substitute for dialogue.

My little one, I want to show you all the world and all the stars in the universe. When I was small I gazed at the stars with my father. Now I am the father.

Look up and see how big and endless the universe is. How small you are in all of this; yet I love you more than all the stars.

The universe is just for you. The stars are yours to see and try to count and wonder at. Look up and see what your father's father and all your ancestors saw. And after me there will still be the stars.

Remember, once in a while, to stop and look up into the heavens, on crispy clear nights to put into perspective your worldly woes.

Aren't you a wonderful creature, able to ponder such vastness in time and space?. Who made your little eyes; that can see heavenly bodies light years away?

Turn your beautiful blue eyes up to the stars. I love you more than those stars.

Daddy.

too little understood,

as often as we should ...

For, somehow, Father seems

to be the man who pays the bills,

While Mother binds up little hurts

and nurses all our ills ...

And Father struggles daily

to live up to 'HIS IMAGE'

As protector and provider

and hero of the scrimmage'

And perhaps that is the reason

we sometimes get the notion

That Fathers are not subject

to the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,

where no one else can see,

You'll find he's sentimental

and as 'soft' as he can be ...

But he's so busy every day

in the gruelling race of life,

He leaves the sentimental stuff

to his partner and his wife ...

But Fathers are just WONDERFUL

in a million different ways,

And they merit loving compliments

and accolades of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires to fortune and success

Is to make the family proud of him

and to bring them happiness ...

In a cost cutting exercise today the Monster for Injustice has announced that all Gudges in the Family Lawr Court are to be made redundant. The courts will now proceed without Gudges in all family cases. Defending his decision the monster claimed that the judgement of the court will from now on be made by the wife in each case . "Extensive research of past cases" the monster said " strongly indicates that the wives will reach the same decisions as the Gudges anyway and the savings for the exchequer will be substantial ! ". When questioned by reporters about the changes, the monster indicated that further savings could be made by using smaller premises. " up to now " he said "The courts have always provided facilities for husbands and their solicitors to attend. We have carried out thorough research which shows clearly that nothing they said has ever been taken into account in reaching the final decision. This unnecessary expense" he said "should be cut out immediately and the wife and her solicitor can proceed with the case unhindered"(8-^)

The problem with any newsletter article about the Internet is that no sooner is it written, then it's out of date so fast is the growth of this medium.

However I'll try to point you in the direction of some good sources for people interested in Shared Parenting / Joint Custody on the Internet.

The longest-established source of information on the Internet is the e-mail mailing list. There are several that I am subscribed to. DADS-L, FATHERS-L, FATHER-L, ACFC-L are just a few to get you started. These give you an insight into the depth of the problems associated with the lack of proper rights for parents following separation or break-up.

Send a message to:

with the following in the body of the message:

(to subscribe to the others just replace ACFC-L)

and follow the instructions you are given.

Another Mailing list is maintained by the group called Families Need Fathers in Britan. Send a message to

Another good source of information is USENET NEWS. There are many newsgroups of interest here. Start with:

This should be carried by your local Internet Service provider (ISP) but if not you can get access to these messages on the web by pointing your Netscape or Internet Explorer browser at:

and browse the newsgroups thereafter.

However just to start you off here are some places of interest on the web.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the title and subject of a talk on Tuesday February the 9^th 1999. It is one of a series hosted by the James Connolly Education Trust, a group which has hosted lectures and talks on important social and political issues over the past 4 years.

Mary Ellen Ring from The Council of Civil Liberties and Liam Ó Gógáin from Parental Equality are the two speakers who will be discussing Family & Social Issues in the Era of Divorce with Carmel Dunne from the Eastern Health Board acting as chairperson.

Many would claim that the bringing in of Separation, Divorce, Domestic Violence and Child Legislation, with an increasing role for the legal profession in the determination of family issues has not addressed the important issues of children’s needs or rights.

Neither has the Oireachtas fulfilled the aims of the Irish Constitution with regard to families and children or United Nations Convention on the rights of the child.

We hope to explore these points and other points further on the night. There is a IR£2.00 admission.

WHY ATTEND?

University Industry Centre University College Dublin Belfield Dublin 4 Thursday 10^th December 1998

The FIRST EUROPEAN CONFERENCE to address the issue of male victims of domestic abuse will be held in the University Industry Conference Centre on Thursday 10^th December 1998.

Following the founding of AMEN in December 1997 this formerly taboo subject has featured in many newspaper articles and radio and television programmes.

Domestic violence has traditionally been portrayed as a women’s issue, however recent evidence shows that many men are suffering silently in abusive relationships.

Culturally there has been a denial of the male victim and the invisible barriers, such as rejection, ridicule and disbelief, isolate him and make it difficult for him to speak out.

Domestic violence is a social issue affecting men, women and children. Addressing only part of the picture will continue to cause damage and create division within families.

A leading journalist with the Irish Times,

Senior producer with RTE Radio 1.

Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary and Westfield College, London University.

Principal Clinical Psychologist and Head of the Psychology Department at St. Vincent’s Psychiatric Hospital and St. Joseph’s Adolescent Services, Dublin.

Barrister-in-law Honourable Society of Kings Inns.

Set up the AMEN helpline for male victims of domestic abuse in December 1997.

9.30 A.M. Colm Keane: Speaking Out

An overview of International and U.K. on Male Victims of Domestic Abuse.

10.45 A.M. Male Victims of Domestic Abuse as a Social, Community and Family Issue. A policy statement from the Minister for Social, Community and Family affairs.

Men being bullied in the home

12.15 P.M. Men’s Stories

Male victims of domestic abuse - the legal perspective.

2.45 P.M. Male Victims of Domestic abuse as a justice and Equality Issue.

A policy statement from Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

3.15 P.M. Men’s Stories

Presentation of recent Irish research survey.

4.30 P.M. Conference Summary by

Contrary to popular belief Probation Officers in Ireland are not confined to criminal Law Matters. Many District Court Family Law Judges order custody and access reports or recommendations from 5such Officers.

This starkly contrasts with our higher court judiciary who orders identical reports from Psychiatrists, Psychologists or Social Workers. It seems that a Family Law Judge has a ‘wide power of preference’ in terms of where a report or recommendation emanates.

Such inconsistencies in the choice of professionals with a view to their qualifications and consequent reports are after all, ‘in the best interest of the children’. This old ‘fob-off cliché’ is as Dickinson as the Probation Service itself. After all, little has changed in Ireland since the inception of the 1907 Probation Officers Act.

It’s hard to believe that some Irish Family Law Judges rely on Probation Officers custody recommendations, in preference to those of qualified professionals. Furthermore, Probation Officers are judicially deemed nigh infallible as "agents of the courts". The Irish Probation Service is not accountable to any independent complaints body. In the UK this is not the case - where such ‘civil servants’ are held fully accountable for their actions or lack thereof.

What can we learn?

To parents whose children are likely to encounter such unaccountable state agents, in marital or relationship breakdown, object, object, object to the court appointment of such faceless agents. Instruct your legal representative to petition the Judge to the extent that, the probation service member, may have no qualification in child psychiatry or psychology and may be unqualified to make recommendation in matters of child custody, to any court. Instruct your legal representative to seek a court order for your children’s parenting wishes to be published via anyone of seven child psychologists to be agreed between parents.

Family Life Centre

Every Friday 9 PM

Phone 079 67138

South Parish Community Hall

Every Wednesday

from 8:00 to 10 pm

Phone (021) 343389

54 Middle Abbey Street

(1st Floor) beside PAB travel

Tuesday at 8:00 PM to 10 PM

Phone (01) 8725222

Phone (042) 933 3163

Red Square Hotel

Forster's Street

Phone (087) 2349436

For Details Phone

(046 23718)

Bohernabreena Community Enterprise Centre

Tuesday at 8:00 PM

Phone (01) 4526291

Details Phone: (051) 850593

Phone 087 288 8277

Phone Seán (01) 402 4807