Domestic violence accounts for half of all family law cases

HALF of all family law cases coming before the district court relate to domestic violence issues.

More than 10,000 applicants before the family law sittings in 2006 sought barring, protection and safety orders because of the fear of violence in the home.

Overall, 20,900 family law cases came before the district courts last year.

The remainder of cases generally related to guardianship, maintenance along with custody and access to children.

The study showed an overwhelming majority of applications for interim barring orders and protection orders were granted in 2006.

Out of 605 applications for interim barring orders, a total of 544 were granted while 2,845 out of 3,137 applications for protection orders were also approved.

However, only 1,221 — or about 40% — of 3,050 applications for safety orders were granted last year. Applications for permanent barring orders also showed a similar pattern with 1,357 out of 3,132 — or 43% — being granted.

The report’s author, Carol Coulter, said the lower percentage of safety and barring orders granted was explained by the fact they are only issued when the court was able to hear both parties.

In contrast, interim barring orders and protection orders are regularly granted on an “ex parte” basis, when a judge may only hear the views of the applicant.

Dr Coulter said more than 50% of safety and barring orders are withdrawn or struck out, often by mutual consent, while a little more than 3% are refused.

A change to the “in camera” rule on family law cases was made in the 2004 Civil Liability and Courts Act to allow limited reporting of such hearings.

Dr Coulter expressed concern that support services for dealing with family law matters at all levels within the courts was under-resourced.

“There is an enormous volume of work. It is something of a miracle that so much gets done,” she said.

She further noted that the volume of family law issues meant that it was not exceptional that 70 or more cases can be listed for hearing on the same day. However, the Courts Service is expected to introduce a pre-hearing case conference service for separating couples on a nationwide basis next year, which is designed to narrow the number of issues in dispute between the parties which come before the circuit court.

According to Limerick county registrar Pat Meghen, a pilot project introduced in part of the mid-west, helped reduce the actual amount of time that separating couples must spend in court.

“It requires people to adopt a change in mindset and encourages them to reach a settlement rather than have a court-imposed order placed on them. Every case [in the pilot project] has made some progress,” said Mr Meghen.

Meanwhile, the president of the Mediators Institute of Ireland, Karen Erwin, called for further measures to be put in place to encourage the use of mediation in family law matters.

“Although solicitors are obliged by statute to suggest mediation to separating couples, many are unfamiliar with the process or of the benefits that it can bring — they may even view it as competition,” said Ms Erwin.