A pregnant woman has been granted a three-year barring order against the child’s father after alleging he threatened to “burn” her and her parents.
The man has a problem with addiction and was arrested last month for breaking up her home after he quit his job and went drinking, the young woman said.
“I don’t want him in the house, I don’t feel safe while he is dealing with his addiction,” she told the emergency domestic violence court at Dolphin House, Dublin.
The woman has a young child from an earlier relationship and said she wanted “to feel safe”.
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The man, who opposed the barring order and wept after it was granted, denied making threats to burn the woman and her parents and to “do something bad”.
He said he could not remember damaging several items of furniture in her home after he had been drinking.
He told the judge he has addiction issues related to the prescription drug Lyrica but said he was determined to “fix myself” and be there for the child. He said he loves the woman and it was “not fair” of her to seek a barring order.
The woman got an interim barring order ex parte (one side only represented) last month and the man was in court on Friday when her application for a full barring order came before Judge Gerard Furlong.
The house is rented in the woman’s name, she has lived there several years, and the man was living with her for about 18 months, the judge was told.
Having heard both sides, the judge “absolutely” accepted the woman’s evidence and granted a full barring order for three years. He told the man this did not prevent him seeking access to his child after the birth.
‘Toxic’ home
In another case, a father sought a barring order against his adult son, who he said had made the family home “toxic” due to his drug use and violent and intimidating behaviour.
The man said he suffered facial injuries when he was assaulted by a stranger who came to his home pursuing his son, aged in his 40s, over a drug debt.
The son has always been in trouble with the law and has served prison terms, the applicant said. Their family home has been raided “multiple” times by gardaí. The man said he has had people calling to the house looking for his son and for money and threatening violence against the family and their home, including to burn it.
His son showed “unacceptable behaviour” towards his parents and family, and used intimidation, violence and fear tactics, all of which created a “toxic” atmosphere in their home.
He said his son is using cannabis and has also used cocaine and another gas-type drug in a cylinder. He was asked to leave the house “numerous” times but refused, the man said.
“I need a stress-free home, I can’t live with this any longer,” he told the judge, adding that he and his wife have health issues and cannot cope.
When the judge said he would grant an interim barring order, the man became tearful and was comforted by another son who was with him in court.
If the respondent son was out of the house, they could function “as a normal home”, the man said.
“A long time it has taken, I should have done this 10 years ago,” he told the judge.
‘I can’t take it’
In another application, a woman got a protection order against her ex partner whom she alleged is “mentally unstable”.
He left her a voice note earlier in the week in which he screamed at her and threatened to kill her for allegedly saying their child was not his. The woman said she had not said that.
The man also posted “numerous” messages on social media, including threats to rape her and other women, and constantly says he will come to her family home, where she lives with their child, she said.
The woman said she was in a relationship with the man for about two years, during which time they had a child. After the baby was born, the man became controlling and abusive of her and used the child “as a weapon”, she said.
He has the baby in unsafe places and had threatened to kill himself when he had the baby in his arms, she said.
“I can’t take it,” she said.
The judge said he would grant a protection order and told the woman she has control of custody and access to the child because she is not married to the man.
“Thank God for that, that is what I am worried about,” she replied.
