C31

Prospective affecting provision: section inserted by Family Courts Act 2024 (48/2024), s. 37, not commenced as of date of revision.

F67[34A.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), jurisdiction vested in the Family District Court is exercisable by a judge of the Family District Court for the time being assigned to the Family District Court district in which—

(a) a party to the proceedings ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation,

(b) a child whose welfare is the subject of the proceedings resides, has resided or is proposed to reside, or

(c) a previous application in the same proceedings has been granted.

(2) In proceedings brought in accordance with subsection (1), the judge to whom the originating application in the proceedings was made may, on the application of a party to the proceedings or of his or her own motion, where the judge decides that it would be in the best interests of a child whose welfare is the subject of the proceedings, or otherwise appropriate to do so in a specific case, direct that jurisdiction may be exercised by a judge of another Family District Court district with which the child, or another party to the proceedings, has a connection.

(3) A judge of the Family District Court may—

(a) outside his or her Family District Court district, make an order in family law proceedings, or give a direction in relation to the conduct of such proceedings, which he or she has power to make or give within that Family District Court district, and

(b) within his or her Family District Court district, make an order in family law proceedings, or give a direction in relation to the conduct of such proceedings, which he or she would not, by virtue of subsection (1), have the power to make or give,

where he or she is of the opinion that the order should be made, or the direction be given, as a matter of urgency.

(4) A judge of the Family District Court may, of his or her own motion or on the application of any party to the proceedings, refer any question of law arising in proceedings before him or her to the Family High Court for determination and the determination of the Family High Court shall be final and conclusive.

(5) Decisions of the Family District Court may be appealed to the Family Circuit Court within the Family Circuit Court circuit in which that Family District Court is situated.]

C32

Prospective affecting provision: additional judges may have jurisdiction for purposes of section as provided by Family Courts Act 2024 (48/2024), s. 49, not commenced as of date of revision.

Assignment of persons to act temporarily as additional judges of Family District Court

49. (1) Whenever it appears to the President of the District Court that, owing to the temporary absence from duty for any cause of a judge of the Family District Court, or an unusual and temporary increase in the business of the Family District Court on any Family District Court district, or any other cause, it is necessary, in order to prevent the work of the Family District Court getting into arrear either generally or on any particular Family District Court district, to increase temporarily the number of the judges of the Family District Court, one or more ordinary judges of the District Court may be assigned to act as a judge of the Family District Court for such period as the President shall think proper in respect of each such person.

(2) Whenever it appears to the President of the District Court that, in circumstances of urgency, an application in family law proceedings is required to be heard without delay and no judge of the Family District Court is available to hear the application, one or more ordinary judges of the District Court may be assigned by the President to hear the application.

(3) Whenever an ordinary judge of the District Court sits in the Family District Court in accordance with subsection (1) or (2), he or she shall be—

(a) an additional judge of the Family District Court for all the purposes of that Court, and

(b) deemed to have jurisdiction for the purposes of section 34A (inserted by section 37) of the Act of 1961.