Judge orders arrest of man over child maintenance arrears

A judge has issued a bench warrant for a man’s arrest after a court heard he owes €6,800 in child maintenance payments.

Dublin District Family Court heard that a maintenance order had been put in place in 2018 whereby the man was required to pay €50 per week to the mother of their son.

The child’s mother told the court the man had stopped paying for a period over 2022 while there were other legal proceedings ongoing between the pair.

The woman said the man, who was not present in court on Wednesday, now owed €6,800 in total. She added that the man wasn’t turning up to access visits and would do so only “when it suits him”. The woman said she had reminded the man that they would be in court on Wednesday but had not heard anything from him.

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“It’s a pain at this stage, he just has to go with the [maintenance] order,” the woman said.

Judge Conor Fottrell said it was “terrible” for the child that the man was not showing up for access and that he had not turned up to court or had been in contact to say why he would not be there.

The judge said the maintenance order had not been varied or changed and that he was issuing a bench warrant for the man’s arrest.

“He has been given plenty of chances to comply with the [maintenance] order,” the judge said. The judge added that the amount owed was “substantial arrears” and he was not satisfied “to let this matter go on any further”.

“He needs to be here and explain why he hasn’t turned up,” the judge said. The judge told the child’s mother that the man would be brought before the court and she would be notified of the date.

In a separate case, a man secured a safety order against his wife after he told the court she had physically attacked their daughter with a stick.

The man told the court he had filed for divorce, but that they are currently living together with their two children. The woman was not present in court.

In a sworn statement to the court, the man said his wife was arguing with their daughter last year, brought her into a room and hit her with a stick and that he had CCTV footage from their home to prove this.

He said his daughter had let out a cry and that there had been other physical attacks against her in the past. The man said on a separate occasion the woman had taken their daughter’s phone and threatened to hit her.

He said his wife had been violent towards him a number of years ago while for the last four years she has been verbally abusive.

“I used to live with it before, but it is untenable,” the man told the court. He added that his wife was “very short-tempered” and was not engaging with the divorce proceedings.

The judge said he was concerned at the incidents of physical abuse against the couple’s daughter.

He said the fact the woman had not turned up to court and no explanation had been provided did not reflect well on her.

The judge granted a one-year safety order, which prohibits the man’s wife from using or threatening to use violence.