A father who said he could not afford to pay for a psychologist for his young son, hired a stretch limo, a function room and a photographer for the boy's birthday, the Dublin Circuit Family Court was told on Wednesday.
The psychologist had been approved by the court to carry out an assessment of the boy and his parents, to help the judge decide on access, and was charging €2,500 plus Vat.
The father said the psychologist wanted €600 up-front, and he could not afford it. He had found a psychologist who was €1,000 cheaper and who would take payment by instalments.
Representing himself, he told Judge Catherine Murphy he could no longer afford his solicitor. He said he was unemployed, on social welfare and had one car.
The father had access to his son for two hours, once a week, and was seeking additional access. The Child and Family Agency had recommended fortnightly access.
A solicitor for the mother said the father had emailed to advise of the alternative psychologist, and he had made inquiries about this man, including among legal colleagues.
“Not a single colleague knew who he was, but [the court-appointed psychologist] is well known,” he said.
The mother’s solicitor claimed the father had four different vehicles, including a Porsche 911, as well as having paid for the birthday stretch limo, hotel function room and professional photographer.
He suggested the father was “running rings around the judicial system”.
“He won’t be running rings around me,” the judge responded. She emphasised the need for the psychologist’s report and said she would make no decision on access until she had it.
She asked the father if he had hired a limo for his son’s birthday.
He said he had; it cost €50, as did the function room, while the photographer was not professional, he said.
The judge said she had never heard of a boy of his son’s age “being impressed by a stretch limo”.
‘Won’t remember it’
“He won’t remember it in two years’ time,” she said.
She noted the mother was “not in financial difficulties” and ordered that she pay for the psychologist’s report, and the father could repay his half to her at €50 a week. She adjourned the case to June.
Separately, a woman sought an adjournment of her husband's divorce application to allow her to secure a solicitor from the Legal Aid Board. She had failed to pay the €30 required in time, she said, but had since paid the fee in three instalments.
The judge noted there were no issues over property and their children were grown up. She said if they agreed to divorce they could manage it without a solicitor.
The woman said she wanted advice about her husband’s pension and a car they had bought before he left, 18 years previously. The man said he paid €50 a week in maintenance “for years”, and he paid for the car. They both bickered in the courtroom.
The judge reminded them they had gotten on with their lives since their marriage ended.
“We had, till he started all this,” the woman responded.
The judge adjourned the case until November and told the woman to inform the Legal Aid Board of the date.
In a third case, the judge granted a divorce to a man who was alone in court. His former wife had agreed to it in writing. The couple had two children and had agreed joint custody, access and maintenance. They had already sold the family home and split the proceeds.
The judge said courts could seem cold and clinical, but they had to go through the formalities to get certainty for the family’s future.
“It is never a pleasant experience to come to court,” she said.
“Nerve-racking,” the man told her.
The judge said though the papers would not come out in the post for a couple of weeks, the divorce took effect “as of this moment”.
