Three minor siblings who were the subject of child abduction proceedings have been returned to England by their father, the High Court has heard.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons had on Thursday directed the Gardai to issue a Child Rescue Ireland or CRI alert in respect of the children.
When the matter returned before the court on Friday the judge was told the children had been taken to Liverpool by their father Pedro Da Silva, after boarding a ferry from Belfast on Thursday morning.
The court heard that on their arrival to Liverpool the English authorities had stopped and interviewed Mr Da Silva but had not identified any child welfare concerns and no criminal charges have been brought against him.
Mr Da Silva, who gave the English authorities an address in Liverpool, was then released.
Orders struck out
Any further steps in the matter, is an issue for the English authorities Mr Justice Simons was also told.
As a result of their return the judge agreed that the orders made in respect of the children and their father could be struck out.
The children had been residing in Ireland after being taken from England by Mr Da Silva in December of last year.
The children's mother, Ms Alice Da Silva and who is separated from Mr Da Silva, claimed they had been brought here without her consent and in breach of joint custody orders issued by the English Courts.
She successfully obtained orders from the Irish Courts, under the Hague Convention, the international agreement which governs alleged 'child abduction', for their return to England, which is the country of their habitual residence.
Matters then escalated when Mr Da Silva, who opposed the application for their return, failed to comply with a Court-set deadline to facilitate the children's return to England.
Failure to appear
Arising out of that failure, the High Court on Thursday directed the Garda to issue a CRI Alert in respect of the siblings due to concerns about their safety and welfare, and that Mr Da Silva be arrested and brought before the Court to answer his alleged contempt.
On Friday Anthony McBride SC, appearing with Alex Finn Bl, instructed by solicitors for the Irish Legal Aid Board for Mrs Da Silva said as the children were back in England meant the purpose of the child abduction proceedings had been fulfilled.
The bulk of the orders made by the court could now be struck out, counsel said.
Counsel said that An Garda Siochana deserved to be "commended for their diligence" in trying to locate the children.
After liaising with various different authorities in Ireland and the UK the Gardai discovered that on Thursday. August 10th Mr Da Silva had boarded the 10.30am Ferry from Belfast and had arrived in Liverpool around 6pm that evening.
However, in what was "a unique case" counsel said that Mr Da Silva had "misled the court."
He had sent emails on Thursday stating that he intended to "fly back with the children" to England that night, while at the same time he was travelling to Liverpool.
Prior to his departure Mr Da Silva had acted in "complete contempt" of orders made by the court by not handing over the children to the authorities here, counsel said.
In light of those actions counsel said his client was seeking an order directing Mr Da Silva to pay its legal costs of the proceedings.
In addition, counsel asked the court to adjourn the proceedings generally, rather than dismiss them in their entirely, should Mr Da Silva ever return to this jurisdiction with the children.
Mr Justice Simons agreed with counsel and adjourned the child abduction proceedings generally and struck out the bulk of the subsequent orders made against Mr Da Silva.
The Judge said he was leaving in place his order allowing the media to identify the parties.
The anonymity of the parties had been lifted in order to allow the Gardai to put the names and images of the children in the public domain as part of their efforts to locate the siblings.
The court said that it would not be correct at this stage to reverse his earlier decision and direct the media to take down articles published about the case.
The issue of costs, the judge ruled is to be considered by his colleague, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty, who had determined and given judgement on the main child abduction proceedings.
