Judge says father 'over-reacted' to Covid-19 concerns and orders children be returned to mother

A judge has said that a father “over-reacted’ when he refused to return his two children to their mother over Covid 19 safety concerns he had for them.

Gardai were called in last Sunday by the children’s mother after her ex-husband refused to return the two primary school going children to her as part of a mediated shared access agreement.

The father refused to hand back the children over concerns that his ex-wife’s new partner, a paramedic, was not observing social distancing with the children at the family home and was placing them at risk as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.

At Ennis Family Law Court today, Judge Mary Larkin ordered that the children be returned to their mother today and that the four and a half days she has lost with the children since last Sunday be made up.

Judge Larkin told the father “the people in the least danger from the Covid 19 pandemic are children and I believe that you have over-reacted and I am not at all happy with it”.

Judge Larkin stated that not returning the children to their mother “was very disruptive for them and very upsetting for the parties”.

The judge stated that “in situations like this I am very loathe to see people taking the law in their own hands and if they are not happy, there are mediation services available”.

Judge Larkin stated that the ex-wife’s new partner “is a health professional and I am not going to diminish his contribution to the pandemic or the difficulties that we are in”.

The children were brought to the precincts of Ennis courthouse today for the case after the mother secured a Production Order from a judge on Wednesday for them to be brought to the court house after the breach of access took place.

In evidence, the father stated today that his children told him that the paramedic was coming too close to them at home and coming in and out of the house.

He stated one child told him that their mother’s new partner “gets much closer to us than the social distancing that you showed us”.

The father stated that his daughter “told me ‘the man doesn’t keep proper distance from us'”.

The father stated that he has never had a problem with his ex-wife’s partner and stated that he felt quite relieved when he heard that he was a paramedic.

He stated: “If you could hand-pick someone for your children to be with a paramedic would probably be a good choice.”

The father stated that he had written to the mother three times since March concerning Covid 19 concerns and warned that if his concerns over social distancing concerning the paramedic were not addressed, he would take matters into his own hands because he was afraid of his children becoming ill.

The father stated that the Gardai visited his home last Sunday after receiving a call from his ex-wife that the hand-over didn’t take place.

The father told the court: “I told the Gardai that I had concerns over my children’s safety and three emails that we been sent had gone unanswered.”

The father stated that he received an email from his wife’s new partner last Sunday after the non hand-over “and he suggested that I was abusing my children”.

Solicitor for the mother, Joseph Chambers stated that most of that email consisted of assurances by the paramedic how careful he would be in interacting with the children and at all times protecting the children.

The father stated that he wanted a return of the same access arrangements as long as he can receive “assurances that they would be kept safe and healthy with regards to my ex-wife’s partner”.

The father stated that he also has a new partner but hasn’t met her for two and a half months. The partner - who also has a child - lives in another county and the father stated: “We decided for the safety of our children that we would stay apart during Covid 19.”