Gartin and Sanders and Ors

In *Gartin and Sanders and Ors*, heard by Cleary J, the proceedings concerned the living arrangements and parental responsibility for a child, B. The application involved the Father and the Maternal Grandparents, Ms M Sanders and Mr A Sanders, who sought to be joined as parties. The dispute centred on how the child would live, the allocation of parental responsibility, and the practical arrangements for the child's care, education, and communication with the parents and grandparents.

The court was required to determine several key issues. These included whether to grant leave to the Maternal Grandparents to be joined as parties to the proceedings. Further, the court had to decide where the child would live, how parental responsibility would be shared, and the specific terms of consultation and decision-making between the parties exercising that responsibility. The court also needed to establish the arrangements for the child spending time with the Father, the respective responsibilities for the child's daily care, and the protocols for information sharing regarding the child's education, health, and extracurricular activities. Finally, the court had to consider the arrangements for the Mother's contact with the child and any necessary restrictions.

Cleary J ordered that leave be granted for the Maternal Grandparents to be joined as parties. The court ordered that the child, B, would live with the Maternal Grandparents and that the Father and Maternal Grandparents would share equal parental responsibility. Detailed provisions were made for consultation and joint decision-making regarding the child. The court stipulated that the Maternal Grandparents would be responsible for the child's daily care when the child was with them, and the Father would be responsible for daily care when the child was with him. Specific arrangements were set out for the child to spend time and communicate with the Father, including provisions for extracurricular activities and information sharing. The court also made orders regarding the Mother's contact, requiring it to be supervised, and imposed restrictions on her attendance at school activities, while ensuring she received certain information about the child. The Independent Children's Lawyer was to be discharged after 12 months.