In a spousal maintenance case, a foreign national woman described being deserted by her Irish husband and being left with only a ticket back to her country of origin.
The man and woman were married in the Far East in 2004. The couple had no children together, but the woman had a child from another relationship in the Far East.
She said they moved to Ireland a year after the wedding and lived in an apartment.
She worked as a trainee hairdresser earning €250 a week, but her rent was now €900 a month and additional expenses meant she could not make ends meet.
"He called me and said there was €200 on the table and a ticket to go back to the Far East under the mat in the utility room and he never wanted to see me again," she said.
"He came back when I was in work a week or so later and took all his stuff."
She said she did not want to go back to the Far East but could not afford to live here.
The husband told the court he was living with his parents and paid them €200 a week.
He had a €22,000 loan which was being used to buy land and build a house for them in her country. His wife had sent all her wages home while they were living together.
"I thought she'd be happy to go back... family is important for her and her parents and her son are there," he said.
He said he could not afford to pay maintenance because money was so tight.
He suggested that rather than pay such a high rent, she rent a room in a house to cut her outgoings.
The judge told the husband that marriage was a serious enterprise and came with serious responsibilities.
"In this case there is additional responsibility because you brought her to a strange country and then cruelly deserted her... you are of course liable to pay maintenance to her. I am deeply sceptical that you pay €200 to your parents every week and I believe you have the ability to pay."
The judge ordered a €2,000 lump sum payment and a weekly payment of €90 to be paid through the District Court.