R v C (Appeal of Consent Order) (Approved)

EASTERN CIRCUIT��������������������������������������������������������������������� COUNTY OF MEATH

      As I have commented previously, the statutory intricacy which forms the background to the within appeal demonstrates the legal complexity of litigation pertaining to non-marital families in Ireland.�

      I am setting out in this background the issues which are not substantially in dispute as between the parties.�

      Legal title to the residence in which the parties resided together is held in the sole name of the Respondent and it was purchased by him a number of years prior to the commencement of the relationship between the parties.� It is subject to tracker mortgage [1] and, in consequence, the repayments have fluctuated greatly in recent years.� The Applicant/Appellant moved into the property in or about 2010 in the context of the relationship between the parties and she continues to reside there with the children.�

  The Respondent is now living with his new partner in a property elsewhere.� An investment property held by the Respondent had been disposed of during the course of the proceedings and the Applicant/Appellant alleged non-disclosure in this regard and that the Respondent had received personal benefit from this disposal. �It was also asserted that the Respondent had received a personal injuries damages award which he had utilised for his own benefit and from which neither the Applicant/Appellant nor the children had benefitted.� Again, this was disputed.