A judge has told a father in maintenance arrears for his two children that if he doesn’t pay out €1,500 by Wednesday, he will be going to prison.
At the Family Law Court, Judge Alec Gabbett sounded the warning after the man said he can’t afford to pay the €300 per week maintenance for his two children resulting in the arrears mounting up.
In January, Judge Gabbett rejected the man’s court application to have the €300 maintenance reduced and told the man that he has a report “that tells me that you are living in a spacious five-bedroomed house and your ex-wife is living in a vermin-infested house with your two children”.
The judge told the man to bring the money to court on Wednesday “otherwise you are going to have to bring a bag of clothing”.
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The man said: “I don’t have the money to pay”, saying his accounts “are in the red”.
Judge Gabbett told the man that he was “wilfully ignoring a court order” concerning his children’s maintenance payments.
The court order states that he must pay €300 per week for his two children.
On the prospect of prison next Wednesday, solicitor for the man’s ex-wife said: “To be honest with you Judge, she doesn’t want that legacy for her children, but at the end of the day, he is quite clear that he wants to stand by his decision and he has sent her a text that he is ready to accept the consequences of his actions.”
Ms Moylan said that in total, the maintenance arrears are €3,450 made up of €1,500 owed on the summons and a further €1,950.
Judge Gabbett said that he would grant criminal legal aid for a solicitor to represent the man in court next Wednesday.
Judge Gabbett told the man: “You are now in the criminal arena and you are committing offences of contempt as far as the court is concerned.”
The judge said that the man was “hell-bent” on remaining in the family home.
The man said that the family home has nothing to do with the maintenance and that his wife voluntarily left the home.
The man said that his wife earns €1,250 per week and Judge Gabbett pointed out that she must pay rent from that income.
The man said that last year, he agreed to pay his wife €50,000 for her share of the equity of the family home.
This was based on him paying €100,000 cash from his own funds for the house and continuing to pay the outstanding €170,000 mortgage by himself after his wife had put a value of €370,000 on the home.
The man said that the deal fell through.
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