The Fancy Man must no longer rule the roost
A Fancy Man barring order meant that the wife went into court, asked the judge to throw her husband out on the street in order to move her new man in. Word was then sent to the husband’s job that he had been tried, convicted and sentenced in his absence and that he will be imprisoned if he goes home that night.
In general the husband was barred forever, even if he owned the house when he was single. The wife didn't need any evidence. She then moved the Fancy Man in and lived happily ever after. The husband had to pay the mortgage and the maintenance for the happy couple and, if he failed, he was sent to prison.
More than a 1,000 of these orders were applied for in 2001 and 95% were granted. This has been Ireland’s dirty little secret for a long time, but the obscenity of Ireland’s family law courts doesn’t end there.
The husband can then apply to the courts for permission to see his children. He gets an Access Order which the wife can break at will. It cannot be enforced, and if he doesn't see his children for years on end, nothing can be done. The other problem is that the wife doesn’t need the barring order to get rid of her husband.
If the new man simply tells the husband to clear off, the husband does not have right of access to his home protected. He has no rights at all.
The judgment declaring ex-parte barring orders unconstitutional will give a welcome morale boost to those of us who have stood with our placards over the years, but it is only a start. We must have a new family law system which covers the human rights of all.
Peter Coleman,
Chairman,
Parents' Defence Campaign.
46, Larkfield Ave.,
Harolds Cross,
Dublin 6.
