Kildare judge recommends mediation service for divided family
TENSION
An in-camera (in-private) court session that went on for around two hours resulted in a Naas District Court judge recommending mediation for the family.
However, Judge Desmond Zaidan was informed that the court no longer has a family mediation service, and it would have to be outsourced.
In the case, it was alleged that a teenage girl was living with her father, and had fallen out with her mother, who stood accused of breaching a court order made against her which barred her from contacting the father and her daughter.
It was heard that both the mother and the father had protection orders made against the other.
The court was told that one occasion, the mother wanted her daughter to return home from a friend’s house, but when she refused to return home, an argument ensued.
The daughter became emotional on the stand, and told Judge Zaidan that she does not feel comfortable around her mother, whom she claimed has an alcohol addiction.
When defending solicitor Tim Kennelly passed on a message to the daughter from her mother, in which her mother said she loves her and only wanted what is best for her, she said that she felt like her actions did not reflect that sentiment.
When he asked her if she loved her mother, the daughter responded that she 'didn’t know' at present.
She also said that while she did not completely rule out reconciling with her mother, she added that she had doubts that they would ever reconcile.
Judge Zaidan questioned why the case before him was a criminal matter, which is when the father, who is in the process of separating from the mother of his child, alleged that she had been trying to 'destroy' him and his business, and even caused property damage to his business.
In turn, the woman alleged that he had been violent towards her in the past.
After a lengthy back-and-forth, Judge Zaidan remarked that he felt that, despite the issues present, it was vital for the family to be on civil terms with one another.
He requested the court’s mediation service, but was told that this would have to be outsourced.
When the mother expressed concerns that the father would take the daughter out of the country if he got the daughter back, he directed that both parents would have to get a court order in advance to bring their daughter abroad.
The judge adjourned the case to a date in the new year to allow time for a mediation report and sentencing, and remanded the mother on continuing bail.
He also appointed a probation worker to act as a go-between for the mother and the father.