FAMILY law court lists in Limerick are “bursting at the seams” with a district court judge asking members of the public to complain to Court Services.
At the opening this week’s family law session, Judge Mary Larkin was scheduled to deal with 50 cases in one day, prompting her to comment that the length of the lists were excessive and unmanageable.
Inviting members of the public to take a blank sheet of paper from the bench, she asked that letters of complaint be directed to the Court Services.
With 50 cases listed, an average of just six minutes could be assigned to each case in a normal working day.
One of the solicitors at the sitting said that the number of people attending family law hearings was “getting to the point where safety could be a concern”.
Judge Larkin, who is co-founder of Family Lawyers Mediation in Galway, has previously said that family law lists should not exceed more than 25 cases on any one day.
As all family law cases are held in camera, (closed to the public), “the corridors are full of people and tensions can run high – especially if a marriage has broken up and new partners are present in support”, one young mother said outside the court.
The woman, who was present with her young child for a court hearing where she was seeking a review of maintenance payments said “Judge Larkin was right to ask us to make the complaints – she did nothing wrong in that. What is wrong is the amount of time that is been given to the cases and the amount of people that expect to have their cases heard.
“Marriages and partnerships break up, it’s a fact of life. Sometimes it is not our fault and other times it is, but these things have to be sorted out and they can’t be done in five minutes.
“Having this many people here waiting is ridiculous. You some day, this could all kick off if the wrong people react to something they don’t like.
“Family law should be on every day if possible. It’s difficult enough going to court to battle fro the little things so the least that could be done is we get the time and respect to do just that…” the young mother emotionally pleaded.
Judge Larkin, who is the co – founder of Family Lawyers Mediation in Galway, previously said that family law lists should not exceed more than 25 cases on the one day a week that the court sits in the city. This week, she reiterated her calls for “bursting lists” to be reduced.
