<p>
	Father begs judge for custody of his children during Family Court hearing</p>
<p>
	A family of young children were taken into the care of the Child and Family Agency yesterday after the judge heard allegations of emotional abuse and neglect.</p>
<p>
	Their father, who is separated from the children&rsquo;s mother and not their carer, sobbed in court and begged the judge to allow him to have custody of his children.</p>
<p>
	The children&rsquo;s mother acknowledged that she was not in a position to care for them at present.</p>
<p>
	Dublin District Family Court heard the couple, who were not married, had split in 2014.</p>
<p>
	The social worker told Judge Marie Quirke that the children&rsquo;s school attendance was very poor and the mother lacked motivation to complete necessary tasks, including taking them to medical appointments.</p>
<p>
	The social worker said he made very regular visits to the mother&rsquo;s home and the young children were regularly outside unsupervised.</p>
<p>
	He said he had witnessed the youngest running out in front of a car, while older children had thrown stones and broken windows.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;Mother struggles with boundaries; the respect isn&rsquo;t there,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;They are spending a lot of time in the park and beginning to get into anti-social behaviour.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	He accepted that the mother had health problems that made her lack energy.</p>
<p>
	The agency had &ldquo;exhausted every mechanism&rdquo; to support her over the last three years, he said, but nothing had worked.</p>
<p>
	The social worker said there were concerns over the father caring for the children.</p>
<p>
	He said that the couple had a history of domestic violence, witnessed by the children, and although the father had &ldquo;calmed down&rdquo;, he still needed to address his anger issues.</p>
<p>
	He also said the father was living with his mother and sister in a two-bedroom house.</p>
<p>
	The father had suggested the children could have one room, his mother and sister the other, and that he could sleep on the couch.</p>
<p>
	The court heard that there had been an attack on the mother&rsquo;s home and it had been searched for drugs in the past.</p>
<p>
	The social worker accepted the father, who saw his children once a week, was loving and he described both parents as &ldquo;extremely nice people&rdquo;.</p>
<p>
	He said a rural foster home had been sourced for the children and they would be kept together.</p>
<p>
	He had agreed with the mother that they would be told she was unwell and that they were going away for a break.</p>
<p>
	Interim care order</p>
<p>
	A solicitor for the mother said she did not accept all of the allegations against her, but accepted the necessity for an interim care order, a short-term order.</p>
<p>
	The father, who was not represented in court, begged the judge not to make an order.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;Please, your honour, don&rsquo;t take my kids away; my kids are my life,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;They would never be the same if they go into care.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	He said there was no need for it and suggested family members who could help care for them.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;They have me . . . their hearts will be broken,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>
	The judge said the children&rsquo;s hearts would not be broken so long as he was &ldquo;there for them and supported them&rdquo;.</p>
<p>
	She asked the social worker to ensure the father got greater access to the children than he currently had.</p>
<p>
	She made an interim order to November 5th.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;These children have very loving parents; everybody has their problems, but that is something you can&rsquo;t buy,&rdquo; the judge said.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/district-court/children-taken-into-care-following-neglect-allegations-1.2384437">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/district-court/children-taken-into-care-following-neglect-allegations-1.2384437</a></p>
