Family court: Barring order due to partner’s ‘alcohol and cocaine abuse’

A woman has secured a two-year barring order against her partner after she told a court he has been “abusing alcohol and cocaine” at home for the last seven weeks.

The woman told Dublin District Family Court on Tuesday that she and her partner have two children together.

In a sworn statement she said her partner is a cocaine user and has mental health problems. She said “for the last seven weeks in a row he’s been abusing alcohol and cocaine in the house where our children live”.

She said earlier this month he began calling her names and accusing her of cheating on him in front of their children. He got “very abusive with us” and shoved one of their children. The woman said on a separate occasion he was “completely out of his mind on cocaine” and didn’t sleep for “six straight days”.

“This has been going on for too long now and I just can’t help him anymore,” she said.

The woman said the man has also been threatening to come to her workplace and “make a show of me”.

The man did not attend the hearing.

Judge Gerard Furlong granted the woman a two-year barring order, which excludes him from the family home and from carrying out any further violence or threats of violence and from watching or being near the home.

Son ‘punches and hits me’

In a separate case, a father secured a protection order on an ex-parte (one side only represented) basis against his adult son.

The father told the court his son suffers from a developmental disorder and lives with him and his wife. He said his son has been hitting him for the past week and as a result the father has bruising on his arm.

He said his son is physically and verbally abusive and that he “punches and hits me with things”. He also said his son previously “smashed up the house” and that he fears him. “I lock myself in my room to avoid him,” he said.

The judge granted the father a protection order, which prohibits the son from using or threatening violence. A full hearing, which the man’s son is expected to attend, was set for a later date.

Husband and wife split

Separately, a woman secured a protection order on an ex-parte basis against her husband. The woman told the court she and her husband split recently and that they have several children.

She said earlier this month her husband began verbally abusing her and making threats. The woman said her husband said that “if he gets me on my own, he’s going to do to me what he did before”. She said this was a reference to previously abducting and assaulting her and that there are ongoing criminal proceedings in relation to this incident.

The woman said her husband’s behaviour puts her in fear and that “I know what he is capable of”. The judge granted her a protection order and set a full hearing for a later date.

Emergency applications are continuing to be heard at Dublin District Family Court at Dolphin House daily.