Keith Walsh

There was a nine per cent increase in applications for domestic violence orders in the District Court from 2022 to 2023, with massive regional variations, according to figures released by Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú.

Ms Ní Mhurchú, who obtained the data using freedom of information legislation, said she was deeply concerned by some towns experiencing dramatic increases.

Applications rose by 328 per cent in Lismore District Court, from 7 to 30 applications, and by 164 per cent in Carrick-on-Suir.

In Killarney, Co Kerry, the number of applications rose by 96 per cent from 94 applications in 2022 to 184 in 2023.

There were also increases of 90 per cent in Clonakilty, 83 per cent in Cashel, 61 per cent in Wicklow and 44 per cent in Dungarvan.

The district courts granted 43 per cent of applications for domestic violence orders made in 2022, 52 per cent of applications made in 2023, and 54 per cent of applications made up to September 2024.

Ms Ní Mhurchú, a former family law barrister, has called on new justice minister Jim O’Callaghan to appoint more district court judges to deal specifically with family law cases.

“So many victims — mostly women — are enduring unthinkable nightmares in their own homes,” she said. “We need a more victim-centred approach.”

Keith Walsh, a leading family law solicitor in Dublin and co-author with Sonya Dixon BL of Domestic Violence Law in Ireland, said he agreed with Ms Ní Mhurchú’s concern and the need for new judges.

However, he added: “One of the ways the courts will go backwards and fail victims of domestic violence will be if the new Family Courts Act 2024 is implemented.

“Divorce cases will be sent down to the District Court where they will displace other cases such as domestic violence cases, causing further delays for parents and children trapped in the family justice system.”

The legislation, which received final approval in November 2024, will provide for the establishment of family court divisions within the existing court structures — a Family High Court, a Family Circuit Court, and a Family District Court.

While welcoming many of the measures included in the new law, family lawyers have strongly opposed provisions which will reallocate most divorce, judicial separation, and co-habitation proceedings to the District Court.

“In terms of combatting domestic violence and making it easier for victims to access the courts, we need specialist family law courts around the country, some of which would be available to deal solely with domestic violence,” Mr Walsh said.

“The proposal to move divorce and judicial separation to the District Court should be abandoned to permit greater access to the District Court.”

There has been a steady increase in cases coming before the district courts in recent years, and practitioners fear they will struggle to deal with further increases to its workload.

Mr Walsh has also highlighted a number of proposals set out in Domestic Violence Law in Ireland “which could be introduced at no cost immediately, but which would greatly assist awareness of domestic violence and assist the courts in dealing with domestic violence cases”.

These include the introduction of a specific statutory offence of domestic violence or abuse, as was done in Northern Ireland in 2021 and in Scotland in 2018, and the introduction of a statutory definition of domestic violence and coercive control, as has been urged by the Law Society of Ireland.

The book also proposes the creation of an indictable offence for breach of a domestic violence order, in addition to the current summary offence, and making this a “serious offence” so it is more difficult for those charged with it to be released on bail.

It also suggests the broadening of the scope of the current offence of coercive control to cover family members such as parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings and step-siblings.

The book also echoes calls from the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association (DSBA) and the Law Society for the provision of free legal aid in domestic violence cases.