CLARE’S Family Law Court has heard details of domestic violence which was perpetrated on a mother-of-three. During one incident, she was knocked unconscious and on another occasion had been strangled while pregnant.
The evidence emerged during an application by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, last Friday for a full care order to be made in respect of three children.
A social worker told the court that the three children, the eldest being 10, have been known to the services since 2008, when the children were found to be soiled, dirty and barefoot.
In 2009, two of the children, then aged one and two, were found unsupervised in a take-away outlet away from their home.
The court heard the eldest, a boy, suffers from ADHD and the mother was unable to manage his behaviour. The boy had disclosed that he did not want to go back to his mother, as there was a violent partner in the picture.
She detailed that the eldest boy had been found alone crying at eight years of age and had to be picked up by gardaí. She said there were issues with feeding the children, looking after them and that the mother did not keep track of where they were.
She said the mother was “overwhelmed herself”.
The social worker said the mother had looked for all three of her children to be taken into care. She said the mother suffers from post-traumatic stress and had been abused in the past and that there was a history of domestic violence in the home.
“She has been knocked unconscious while the children were in her care. The children disclosed instances of domestic violence and the mother has come to the centre bruised and admitted to being strangled while pregnant,” she said.
She said while the mother has attended some accesses, she has also missed a lot. The mother was not present in court but had presented a medical certificate for her absence. The court also heard that the mother is pregnant with a fourth child.
The social worker outlined that the second eldest, a girl, did not want to return to her mother’s care and that the third child, also a girl, is due to start national school in September.
There was difficulty in finding a school place for the boy, who is currently without any education arrangement since last November. The court was told that a home tutor is being sought for him after three schools refused to give him a place.
Judge O’Neill said, in the absence of the mother, she felt it was best to put the matter in for a hearing to determine whether to impose a full care order or not. She said there were “alarming concerns” in relation to the lack of schooling and granted a care order to October 1 pending the hearing.
By Carol Byrne
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.