THE plight of fathers denied access to their children and of grandparents who are not allowed to see their grandchildren was raised at yesterday's meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Family.
Ms Ann O'Connor, of AIM Family Services, said men comprised about 20 per cent of the clients of the voluntary service, which offers counselling and information. Many of these are single fathers and they were not allowed to see their children, she said. "That is becoming quite a problem."
They also received calls from grandparents "who want to have an involvement with their grandchildren but are not allowed to see them".
Dr Michael Woods, FF, condemned the failure by the Government to increase funding for marriage counselling services.
"I just couldn't believe it," he said of the allocation of £900,000 - the same as last year - for the purpose.
Funds should be allocated for three year periods to enable recipients to plan their programmes, he said.
The committee chairman, Mr Paul McGrath TD, said £900,000 represented a sharp increase on what was available before 1996.
Ms Penny Wilson, of Accord, formerly the Catholic Marriage Advisory Council, said about 15 per cent of clients decide to separate and "they are supported by us in that separation".
Ms Ruth Barror, of the Marriage and Relationship Counselling Service, said the effect of marriage breakdown on young people was a source of concern. The service had begun to work with teenagers whose parents had separated or were separating.
One issue which was coming to the fore was how to integrate children from different marriages in the same family.
Most of the members of the committee left yesterday's meeting before the invited groups had finished making their submissions.