DIVORCES AND judicial separations are down, while applications for
guardianship from unmarried fathers and for custody of and access to
children are up, according to the Courts Service annual report.
There was also a significant increase in debt and insolvency cases appearing before the courts last year, says the report.
Divorce
and judicial separation applications fell last year for the second year
in succession – since 2008 – and are now at the lowest level for almost
a decade.
There were 3,357 divorce applications in the Circuit
Court and 24 in the High Court in 2010,
compared with 4,214 and 43
respectively in 2008. In 2002 the figures were 3,912 and 33
respectively.
Judicial separation applications, which are often
obtained before a couple seek a divorce following a separation of at
least four years, show a similar decline.
There were 1,393 such
applications in the Circuit Court and 27 in the High Court last year,
compared with 1,966 and 44 respectively in 2008. In 2002 the figures
were 1,871 and 59 respectively.
Last year also saw a significant
rise in childcare applications from the HSE. Supervision orders, where a
family receives supervision from social workers, rose by 16 per cent,
to 731, while care orders, where children are taken into the care of the
HSE, rose by 11 per cent, to 1,046.
There was also an increase in
applications relating to guardianship of children, custody and access,
the vast majority of which were granted or withdrawn, normally following
agreement.
There were 2,783 applications for guardianship in the
District Court, of which 2,072 were granted, 643 were withdrawn or
struck out and 68 were refused.
This compared with 2,463 the previous
year, an increase of 12 per cent.
Most applications were from unmarried
fathers.
Custody applications in the District Court were up 44 per
cent to 1,380, of which 767 were granted and 574 withdrawn; there were
4,784 applications for access, of which 3,697 were granted and 995
withdrawn.
The Circuit Court saw an increase of 65 per cent in
applications for judgment mortgages on 2009.
This is a way of securing
payment from a debtor if other options have failed.
The High Court
dealt with 3,961 such certificates, an increase of 128 per cent on
2009.
The Circuit Court saw 13,613 debt judgments during 2010, a rise of
25 per cent on the previous year and the District Court saw 30,000.
The High Court dealt with 3,207 debt-recovery cases, up 28 per cent on 2009.
The
District Court issued 1,564 ejectment orders last year, up 76 per cent
on the previous year.
There has also been a trebling in bankruptcy cases
in the last two years, with 29 bankruptcies granted in 2010 compared to
eight in 2008.
There were 9,945 applications under domestic violence legislation, compared with 10,306 the previous year.
More
than half of all applications for protection under domestic violence
legislation were spouses, with common-law partners and the parents of
adult children making up the balance.