The High Court affirmed the principle of overnight access between a father and his young child, but varied the Circuit Court order to add transition measures and a review date.
Mr Justice Henry Abbott delivered the judgment on 22 July 2016 in an appeal about access. The mother had appealed an order providing for overnight stays at the father’s home about once a month. Those stays had been paused, while agreed daytime access continued. She argued that overnight access was not feasible while she was breastfeeding the child and that disruption could harm the child’s wellbeing and attachment. She also raised concerns about lodgers in the father’s home; the judgment said that issue had been resolved because there were no longer lodgers.
The mother gave evidence that she wished to continue breastfeeding until November 2016 and found it difficult to express enough milk for longer visits. She said she would comply if ordered, but struggled to envisage an order without transition measures. The father said he wanted to care for the child over a full 24-hour period, was prepared for the challenges of settling the child and would cover the mother’s travel expenses if she stayed nearby during the first visits.
The judge admitted and read a lactation consultant’s report to understand the mother’s position, but agreed with the father’s counsel that it lacked the independence and objectivity required of an expert report for use in court. The court considered the child’s best interests, including the value of breastfeeding and the importance of building a close relationship with the father. It concluded that overnight access should begin, while adding measures to help the transition.
The varied order provided for the first overnight access from the first Saturday in August 2016, after a swimming lesson, until 4pm on Sunday, with further overnight access on each fourth Saturday. The first two stays were to take place at the family home in the south. The father was to pay the mother’s transport and accommodation costs to stay nearby in case consultation or emergency assistance was needed.
The court also continued agreed daytime access, limited Skype calls to every second day and provided for a closed WhatsApp group with the parties, both grandmothers and the child. The parents were to consult about the child’s diet, but the mother was not to prepare food in advance for access; the father could choose and prepare food during his time. They were directed to prepare a schedule covering holidays and Christmas through the February 2017 overnight visit, when arrangements should be reviewed by agreement, mediation or application to the Circuit Court.
The matter was adjourned to 29 July 2016 for final perfection of the order and consideration of the access schedule. Further applications were directed to the Circuit Court, which could adjust the order in the pending judicial separation proceedings.