A Wexford District Court judge granted K.D. a safety order for three years, ordered E.D. to pay €500 a month in maintenance and set new access arrangements for the couple’s two children.
Judge Brian O’Shea delivered the judgment at Wexford District Court on 9 November 2017. The court heard three applications: K.D.’s applications for a safety order and maintenance, and E.D.’s application to regularise access. The parties are married and guardians of two boys, aged 12 and 10 at the time. The judgment anonymises them as K.D. and E.D.; it does not name the children.
K.D. alleged a history of violence, including earlier head-butting incidents and an incident several years before the hearing when, she said, E.D. pinned her by the throat and hit her. She also described a June 2016 confrontation. E.D. disputed her account, gave a different version of one alleged incident and denied hitting her with his fists. The judge said that, on the balance of probabilities, the more recent incidents occurred as K.D. described them, and found on reasonable grounds that a safety order was necessary to ensure her safety. The order runs for three years.
The court ordered E.D. to pay K.D. €500 per month, starting on or before 9 December 2017, into the account used for earlier intermittent payments. He must also pay half of the vouched, reasonable and necessary medical, dental and educational expenses for both children. The judge said a separate dispute about an apparent lump-sum agreement was outside these proceedings and could not be used to withhold court-ordered payments. K.D. may apply for attachment of earnings if payments are not made or are delayed.
The judge met both boys together in chambers after both parents and their legal representatives agreed to the arrangement. The boys described their access as roughly 60/40 between their parents and were satisfied with it. They did not want a change, except that they preferred to leave for school before E.D. on days they were with him. The court also considered the concern that they had been left unsupervised for 10 to 15 minutes before school.
The court ordered access with E.D. every Monday and Wednesday, with him to collect the children from the childminder after work and take them to school before leaving for work. He will also have them every second weekend, collecting them after work on Friday and returning them to K.D. at 1pm on Sunday. The parent with whom a child is staying must take the child to and from extracurricular activities. The childminder is to be paid by K.D. and take work instructions only from her. Any work timetable change affecting access must be reported immediately to K.D., and the matter should return to court.