Two Irish dads are delighted and relieved now that their long fight is over.
Dads Jay O’Callaghan and his husband, Aaron O’Bryan were shocked last year to discover they were not legally recognised as the parents of their baby son, Jake. Because of this little Jake was unable to receive an Irish passport.
While the couple are happy to have recently obtained an Irish passport for their son they say that there are still many issues to be addressed.
It was recently announced that a new bill brought into legislation would allow both parents in a gay couple to have equal rights regarding their child. Unfortunately, though many families are still finding themselves excluded from these rules.
Jay recently got in contact with GCN and informed them that he and Aaron had finally received Jake’s passport but they were still coming up against issues;
“After a year of back and forth with the passport office, we were finally issued with a passport for our son Jake a few weeks ago.
The current situation for same-sex male parents has not changed since last year, even after Minister Simon Harris announced that the issue will be dealt with when the Dáil returned in September 2018. Although we have Jake’s passport, the Irish state does not recognise me and my husband as equal in relation to the rights of our son.”
Even though the new bill was brought in to tackle the issue of inequality between parents in a gay relationship, many families across the country are still protesting to have their rights upheld.
Families who had their fertility treatments abroad and families led by gay fathers still find their rights very much in a grey area.
A year on it is brilliant news that Jay and Aaron finally have an Irish passport for their son but it’s still just one step on the road to full equality for LBGT families.
