Over a quarter of fathers who do not live with their children have ‘little to no contact with them'
The report uses Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) data to look at the profile of fathers not living full-time with their children, termed 'non-resident fathers'.
The GUI study, produced in partnership with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE), has included both resident and non-resident fathers in almost all waves of the study.
The primary focus of the report is on how best to involve non-resident fathers in future waves of the GUI birth cohort, however it provides interesting insights on non-resident fathers and their relationships with their children.
Families with a non-resident father have much younger mothers, who tend to have lower levels of education and are more likely to live in urban areas.
Households that experienced parental separation during the study were more disadvantaged in profile, with this group of fathers having lower educational levels, higher unemployment and greater financial difficulties.
Half of non-resident fathers see their babies or toddlers several times a week, according to mothers' reports.
Contact is less frequent as children transition to school, though around a third of five and nine-year-olds see their fathers at least a few times a week.
Although the non-resident fathers surveyed tend to be actively involved in their children's lives, around half of them would like more frequent contact.
Parental accounts of the father's frequency of contact differ, with mothers reporting lower levels of contact than fathers do.
Over a third (38pc) of separated mothers receive regular payments from the non-resident father, while 11pc receive payments on an ad hoc basis.
From the child's perspective, over half (53pc) report getting on 'very well' with their father at age nine, indicating the importance of their father in their lives.
Birth and child cohort studies internationally have varied in the extent to which they include the perspectives of resident fathers, with even greater variation found in the inclusion of non-resident fathers.
Studies that do include non-resident fathers have yielded important insights into their influence on child outcomes and the importance of the resources.
These are financial, social and emotional resources – that fathers provide for their children.
However, many studies have experienced challenges in including non-resident fathers.
Both NGOs and separated parents strongly emphasised the importance of including non-resident parents in research, with interviewees highlighting the active involvement of fathers in their children's lives and the consequent impact on child development.
Emer Smyth, co-author of the report, said a significant proportion of children – around one-in-six – do not live with their father full-time.
"So not including their father gives only an incomplete picture of their lives,' she said.
'Parents can differ in their perceptions of the father-child relationship, so capturing both perspectives is important.'
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