Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:169 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform if he intends to extend barring orders so that they are available where the person seeking the order is an owner or tenant of the property.
Written Answers. - Extension of Barring Orders.
Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:170 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform when he intends to amend the Family Law Protection of Spouses and Children Act, 1981 to ensure that protection orders are available as a remedy in their own right, when barring orders are not available.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 169 and 170 together.
The Family Law (Protection of Spouses and Children) Act, 1981, provides that a person who is the owner or tenant of a property can apply for a barring order where the applicant is the spouse of the person against whom the order is being sought. The legislation does not extend at present to unmarried cohabiting couples.
The question of amending the legislation in relation to the extent of its cover and to the granting of protection orders in their own right rather than as an interim measure will be examined in due course in the light of any response to the White Paper on Marital Breakdown and in the context of an overall review of family law.