More than eight out of 10 applicants for domestic violence protection orders are granted and the success rate for barring order applications stands at about one in three, a legal conference has heard.
Domestic violence and childcare accounted for more than half of family law applications in the District Courts over the past 25 years, the Law Society’s Child and Family law conference was told.
Keith Walsh SC, a family law expert, said almost 64,000 family law applications were made in the District Courts last year, reflecting a steady increase over the years.
Of last year’s applications, 25,563 related to domestic violence and 21,797 to childcare. Almost 6,000 related to maintenance and 10,885 concerned guardianship and access.
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Mr Walsh said the difficulty in many cases is that the applications are not dealt with quickly. Delays in getting reports from child assessors are among the reasons for the this, he said.
Mediation is effective for some family law cases but is often unsuitable in domestic violence cases, he said.
Citing Courts Service data, Mr Walsh said there were 2,934 barring order applications last year, of which 813 (27.7 per cent) were granted, reflecting a similar pattern in the previous five years. In 2005, there was 3,183 barring order applications, of which 1,265, almost 40 per cent, were granted, he noted.
Of a record number of almost 10,000 safety order applications, 3,398 (34.1 per cent) were granted. The numbers seeking such orders have increased steadily since 2019 with the last year figure representing a significant rise on the 2,866 applications made in 2005.
Interim barring order (IBO) applications, usually made ex parte (one side only represented), stood at 2,129 last year, up slightly on the 2023 figure, but representing a marked increase on the 622 applications in 2005. Of the IBO applications last year, 1,190 (55.9 per cent) were granted.
There were 9,745 ex-parte applications for protection orders last year, of which 8,009 (82 per cent) were granted.
In the first year of operation of civil restraint orders, the grounds for which mirror those for the recently created offence of stalking, Mr Walsh said disputes between neighbours and involving in-laws are among the subject of applications.
Teachers, solicitors and anyone in contact with members of the public who “may fixate on things” are among potential applicants, he added.
Between September 2nd 2024 and September 29th last, 1,545 applications were received for civil restraint orders. Almost one third, 506, were granted.
Some applications, including one involving a woman who alleged a neighbour had fired a gun over her head, might have been more appropriately dealt with as criminal matters, he said.
When he expressed concern that gardaí may be referring people to the civil courts instead of taking criminal prosecutions, many lawyers attending the conference on Friday indicated they believed this was the case.
The civil restraint orders will afford additional protection to those suffering unwanted behaviour, and greater protection for victims of domestic violence as they complement orders made under the Domestic Violence Act, Mr Walsh said.
The civil restraint regime places additional burdens on an already overworked and under-resourced District Court and the resources required are disproportionate to the number of applications, he said.
To avoid displacement of other cases, he said it is “essential” the additional judicial and court staff resources promised in the report of the Judicial Planning Working Group are provided.
