The Domestic Violence Act, 2018 commenced on the 1st of January 2019 and has made significant changes in extending the eligibility to apply for Safety, Protection and Barring orders notably:
Section 6(1)(a)(iii) of the Act removes the previous requirement of cohabitation between the parties to apply for a Safety/Protection Order and now requires that the parties have been in an intimate relationship at the time of the application without any requirement of living together.
Section 7(1)(c) of the Act requires that the parties have been living together in an intimate relationship to make an application for a Barring Order.
Prior to the 2018 Act, parties must have been living together six out of the previous nine months in an intimate relationship to apply for a Barring Order. This minimum period of cohabitation has been removed.
The 2018 Act has introduced an Emergency Barring Order, this new order provides a time-limited protection where there is an immediate risk of significant harm. Crucially, cohabitants who do not satisfy the property test for a Barring Order are eligible to apply for this order provided they have lived in an intimate and committed relationship with the respondent prior to their application (Section 9(1)(a)).
If you have any query of a family Law nature please contact Brendan Dillon on 01 2960666.
