‘Epidemic’ of applications for domestic abuse orders, says Cork judge

A district court judge has said that a sharp rise in applications for domestic violence orders “could almost be described as an epidemic”.

Judge Colm Roberts made the comments at Midleton District Court while dealing with a domestic violence complaint that was later withdrawn.

The judge said that despite a significant increase in applications, there was no corresponding rise in the number of successful prosecutions or of orders being granted.

Complainants can apply to the courts for a safety order where the accused is instructed to desist from abusive or threatening behaviour.

A barring order may also be issued which bars the accused from the residence of the complainant and may also instruct them to have no contact with the complainant.

Judge Roberts said that about 40% of applicants for such orders do not turn up for hearings in his court. He said that only about 5% of cases end up with a prosecution. 

He added: “Of all the crimes that come before the gardaí you are probably talking about the least and lowest conviction rate.” 

Judge Roberts added: “It’s a very complicated situation and the courts can only provide a partial solution. There needs to be other options than the courts for these situations. The courts can only provide a partial remedy.” 

Judge Roberts said that the sheer volume of applications is also impacting on regular criminal court business. He said that at one recent sitting at Mallow District Court he had to deal with nine domestic violence applications at the beginning of the day.

• This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme