Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 24 Oct 1995

Vol. 457 No. 4

Written Answers. - Judicial Separations.

Noel Ahern

Question:

159 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Justice if she will give an analysis of settlements to date regarding the family home in cases where judicial separations were allowed under the 1989 Act; the percentage of cases where the family home was awarded to the husband, the wife, where the house was sold, where the sale was deferred until the children reach 18 or 20, where no decision was made on the house, where the home was not owned by the couple, and others; and the number of cases where either partner was evicted or left homeless without means to arrange rehousing. [15351/95]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

The information requested by the Deputy could only be compiled by an examination of each individual court file where a decree of judicial separation was granted under the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989. The most recent statistical returns from the courts, July 1995, indicated that 4,396 such decrees were granted since 1989. I do not consider that the allocation of scarce staff resources in order to abstract the information sought by the Deputy, which would require the scrutiny of all these decrees, together with any ancillary orders, would be justified. The judge in making decrees in judicial separation cases is obliged to take into consideration the welfare of children, property, etc. before making any decision.