A.R v Child & Family Agency

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Ms. Justice Kennedy
• Judgment Date: 05 November 2018
• Neutral Citation: [2018] IECA 363
• Date: 05 November 2018
• Court: Court of Appeal (Ireland)
• Docket Number: Neutral Citation Number: [2018] IECA 363 Record Number 2017 610

[2018] IECA 363

THE COURT OF APPEAL

Kennedy J.

McGovern J.

McCarthy J.

Kennedy J.

Neutral Citation Number: [2018] IECA 363

Record Number 2017 610

BETWEEN/

A.R.

APPELLANT

- AND -

Child & Family Agency

RESPONDENT

Practice & procedure – Judicial review – Extension of time – Refusal of extension

Facts: The applicant's 3 children had been the subject of care orders made in the District Court. The applicant had unsuccessfully appealed the orders, and now sought to appeal the refusal of leave to apply for judicial review.

Held by Kennedy J, that the appeal would be dismissed. As there was no application for leave before the High Court, the Court could not grant an extension under the provisions of Ord 84.

JUDGMENT of the Court ( ex tempore) delivered on the 5th day of November 2018 by Ms. Justice Kennedy

1 The applicant, AR, appeals from the order of the High Court and that order is dated the 11th December 2017; the order of Keane J. refusing an extension of time within which to bring an application for leave to apply for orders of judicial review.

2 Briefly, the background to this appeal concerns various orders made by the District Court regarding the care of the applicant's three children. These orders were then appealed by the applicant to the Circuit Court and the orders of the District Court were therein affirmed. Those orders are dated the 8th February 2017 and the 7th February 2017. Then, by way of notice of motion dated the 4th July 2017 and grounded on the affidavit of the applicant, the applicant sought an order form the High Court to extend the time within which to bring judicial review proceedings in respect of the Circuit Court orders. This motion was refused by the High Court and is the subject of this appeal.

3 We have carefully considered the application and we have had particular regard to the affidavit sworn by the applicant. The applicant sets out a number of grounds of appeal in her grounds of appeal specifically delay regarding two Circuit Court appeal hearings, delay regarding the High Court hearing of the applicant's notice of motion, unfair District and Circuit court hearings, unfair hearing on the 11th December 2017 due to the respondent's failure to ensure service of the respondent's affidavit in a timely manner and the fifth ground is cited as erroneous reasons for the respondent to contest the extension of time for judicial review.

4 Order 84, r. 21 of the...