LGBT Ireland would like to thank Dr Lydia Bracken for delivering this incredibly important report in collaboration with LGBT Ireland.
Dr Lydia Bracken is the Assistant Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences and a lecturer at the School of Law, University of Limerick. Lydia researches the areas of child and family law, with a particular focus on the legal recognition of ‘non traditional’ and ‘new’ families. Lydia is the author of two books, Same-Sex Parenting and the Best Interests Principle (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and Child Law in Ireland (Clarus Press, 2018), and has published her research on child and family law in high-ranking national and international journals.
This project would not have been possible without the generous participation of the LGBTI+ parents who undertook the anonymous survey. We are most grateful to the participants for sharing details of their pathway to parenting, family structure and experience of obtaining legal recognition of their parent-child relationships. Their experiences and perspectives provide the evidence base for this research report, which endeavours to shine a light on the legal barriers facing LGBTI+ parent families in Ireland and to identify legal reforms that ensure that all family types are legally recognised and protected.
This research was made possible by the Irish Research Council New Foundations Scheme 2020.
Click here to access the full report LGBTI+ Parent Families Report