Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 December 2020
356. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to a mechanism by which the sale of a family home can be compelled in a situation in which one party is refusing to assent to same and in which a barring order is in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42798/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe courts are, subject only to the constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions and the conduct of any court case is a matter entirely for the presiding judge. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.
Section 4 of the Family Home Protection Act 1976, allows a court, in certain circumstances, to dispense with the consent of a spouse to the sale of the family home.
Section 32(2) of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 provides that while the exercise of a person’s right to occupy a place is suspended by virtue of a barring order, that order shall not affect any estate or interest in that place of the person against whom the order was made or any other person.
The Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 and the Family Law Act 1995 provide for the making by the courts of orders relating to property, including the family home, in divorce or judicial separation proceedings, and such orders can include orders for the sale of property.
The question of whether such an order should be made in any particular case will be a matter for the court to decide, having considered the circumstances of the case.
