David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are two issues, the first of which is communication by telephone or electronic means. I have dealt with that, as it is important that someone be available in person. The second issue has to do with delays in emergency or extreme cases where an applicant or children could be in grave danger. Court clerks are on call and can call the judge assigned and explain the gravity of the application. The judge will decide whether a special sitting is warranted. I am told that the Courts Service has reported that it has no record of a judge refusing to sit when requested. This is what I am advised is happening in practice.

Usually, domestic violence applications are heard in the District Court area where the applicant resides, but an emergency application can be heard anywhere in the district. When construed together, the Domestic Violence Acts and the relevant provisions of the District Court rules provide that, if a judge of the district is not available, another judge can hear the matter, but the hearing must still take place in the district.

Requests outside of office hours are rare, as members of the public cannot contact a court clerk directly. However, there is a clerk on call in every district to take requests for special sittings from An Garda Síochána, which is called for by the two amendments. I am told that there have been a handful of occasions in which the Garda has made known to an on-call clerk that there was a potential domestic violence application. On one occasion, a solicitor contacted the clerk directly. In all of those cases, special sittings were arranged.

Perhaps we need to beef up the knowledge out there of the availability of this approach.