Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I cannot accept this. The courts always have a view that if they can bring finality to arrangements, they will do so. However, there are always cases involving couples where there will be a change of circumstance as time moves on. The court must have the ability to change if new circumstances prevail between the couples. The portent of what the Deputy is proposing would be mandatory. He accepts that it is not possible to do this in every case and that he is trying to avoid further proceedings. We would wish that such would be the case, but the way the amendment is drafted is to ensure that there is an emphasis on dealing with it once and for all. Anybody who has practised family law knows that from time to time, circumstances change and one person has to come back into court and make an application because of that change of circumstances. The Deputy's amendment could cause difficulty in that respect.

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