Support and advice must be made available for the many separated fathers who have felt a sense of "discrimination and alienation" following their experience of the family law system, according to the Minister of State for Children.
At yesterday's opening of the first national office of the Unmarried and Separated Fathers of Ireland organisation, Brian Lenihan said many men had felt marginalised within the legal system.
It was an unfortunate fact that by the time a marriage breakdown became the subject of a court case, it was "very difficult" to provide a process which gave satisfaction to the litigants.
He welcomed the relaxation in the in camera rule in family law cases, enacted by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell last week.
"We cannot have a huge swathe of the administration of justice taking place in total secrecy," he added.
The organisation for fathers was founded by Ray Kenny 10 years ago. It has offered a weekly drop-in service at St Aengus's community centre in Tallaght and at a public house in Fairview, both in Dublin.
Mr Kenny said in the last six months, 774 clients had used the service at St Aengus's. They were mainly men who were seeking advice on access to their children, custody and maintenance matters, "but we have also had women seeking advice on how to get their ex-partners or husbands more involved, and grandparents too who are being denied contact with their grandchildren because of custody orders".
