A bill proposes to abolish the legal concept of illegitimacy, giving equal rights to all children, whether born within or outside of marriage.
Galway woman Noreen Robinson's daughter Richelle was born in 1972. While she maintained a relationship with Richelle’s father Richard, they never married. When Richelle was 5 years old, Richard died in a car accident.
Under the present law, as a child born out of wedlock, Richelle does not enjoy the same legal rights as children born to parents whose union has been legitimised through marriage. In terms of succession rights, this means Richelle has no automatic right to any claim on Richard’s estate.
She has no claim, but I put in a counter claim for inheritance and hopefully someday she’ll get something out of it.
Noreen understands that making a claim on the estate is a difficult legal process as it is contesting the constitution of the country,
Even though we say we cherish all children of the country equal we don’t really live up to that in reality.
She feels the inequality is so great,
When you term a child illegitimate, you’re really questioning their right to exist.
If Noreen was to marry and have further children, under the present law, unless she expressly mentions Richelle in her will, only the children of the marriage would have inheritance rights.
Noreen is sceptical that a change in the law will change attitudes to children born outside of marriage,
That term illegitimate or legitimate will always stick.
She disagrees with the terminology in the Government’s new bill which proposes the terms marital and non-marital are used,
There should be no words inserted to mean the same thing.
Noreen thinks is only fair that children have the same rights regardless of the marital status of their parents. They should have their father’s name and rights from their father’s side of the family.
The new bill bestows more rights on the father which may worry some single mothers, but Noreen does not think this is necessarily a bad thing. Rather than threatening the family she thinks the bill will make men face up to their responsibilities.
Noreen Robinson is Chairperson of the Claddagh/Salthill Branch of the Labour Party, secretary of Galway West Constituency Council and she will be running in the South Ward during the 1985 Local Elections.
A 'Today Tonight’ report broadcast on 1 May 1985.
'Today Tonight' was an RTÉ current affairs programme with up-to-the-minute coverage of events at home and abroad. 'Today Tonight’ was first broadcast on 6 October 1980 and ran for 12 years until 1992. Edited by Joe Mulholland, the original presenters included Barry Cowan, Brian Farrell and Olivia O’Leary.
