A woman who said she went days without food on one occasion, as her husband refuses to give her money for essentials, has been granted a protection order against him.
The woman told Dublin District Family Court on Friday that she is “completely dependent” on her husband as she has a disability.
Asked by Judge Gerard Furlong if she was entitled to social welfare payments, the woman, originally from Africa, said she did not believe she was.
She told him her husband of more than two decades “threatens and bullies” her in front of her four adult children.
“My husband has always been controlling and often aggressive towards me. He has hit and pushed me around many times over the years,” she said in a sworn statement.
She said her husband regularly threatens her and is “sending me out of the house at midnight”.
She told the judge her husband has stopped providing money for living expenses and “refuses to give me money to eat”.
“In December, after I had not had any food for four days, I took his wallet to try and take some money for food and essentials. He became very angry and violent towards me, hitting me in the back and pushing me,” she said.
After attending her local Garda station, and being told by gardaí that the man must provide money for essentials, she said her husband agreed to give her money, “but has now stopped again”.
Having recently asked for money for food, the woman claimed her husband offered €50 to cover the subsequent two weeks, which she told him was not enough to survive on.
“He then refused to give me any money at all and ended up pushing me around. I cannot take this any more,” she said.
Granting a protection order, the judge advised the woman to seek support and advice from Women’s Aid. He said she had the option of lodging a maintenance summons.
“This is a long time that this is going on,” he said, noting that the woman had previously been granted a protection order.
He advised the woman to contact gardaí if further incidents arise, saying that her being put out of the house at midnight was “putting your safety at risk”.
In a separate case heard on Friday, a woman in her 80s was granted a protection order against her daughter who, she told the court, was “tormenting me all the time”.
The woman told Judge Furlong her daughter, aged in her 40s, is a “chronic drug addict” and “violent”.
“She has been terrorising me and threatening to hurt me,” the woman said in a sworn statement.
Applying for a protection order, she said she no longer wished to have any contact with her daughter as she is “afraid of her because of her violent mood swings”.
“She said she would hurt me if I didn’t give her money,” the woman said.
Hours before her attendance at Dublin District Family Court, the woman said her daughter came to her house and “wanted to smoke drugs” there.
“I told her to get out and she got aggressive and refused to leave,” she said.
The woman said she called gardaí, who attended the incident, but that she remained “scared to go home”.
Judge Furlong granted the protection order until a full hearing is held and told the woman to call An Garda Síochána if her daughter puts her in fear for her safety.
