'Ineffective' child maintenance system is putting pressure on families' finances

The committee made a total of 17 recommendations to Justice Minister Helen McEntee. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The system under which child maintenance payments are made is “ineffective” and is putting a strain on families, an Oireachtas committee has found.

A cross-party report, prepared by the justice committee, concluded that the current system can cause “increased fear for those that may have been victims of domestic abuse or suffered coercive control from their former partners”.

It also found unpaid maintenance is a “significant contributory factor” towards child poverty and deprivation. The report highlighted the potential for strained relationships between separated parents.

Taking into account submissions from various stakeholders, the committee, which is chaired by Fianna Fáil TD James Lawless, made a number of recommendations to Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

Some 17 recommendations were made to the minister, including:

• The establishment of a statutory child maintenance agency, with responsibility for assessing and enforcing issues pertaining to court orders and child maintenance;
• The introduction of a minimum essential standard of living for children and that guidelines be introduced to enable the courts to award maintenance rates appropriate to a child’s individual needs;
• Fixed financial penalties should be established and applied for non-compliance with court orders;
• The decoupling of child maintenance payments from social welfare benefits, to ensure that the non-payment of maintenance does not further child poverty rates.

As part of their research, the committee heard evidence from a survey that found 36% of respondents were owed an average of €8,300 in maintenance arrears but had “given up pursuing it and were no longer using the courts to enforce maintenance orders”.

These maintenance payments were used to cover bills for heating, food, electricity and other essential costs. Non-payment of child maintenance is also recognised by Irish law as a form of financial abuse.

The committee was also told by witnesses that “the whole process of going to court — the language used, the timing, the formality of seeing solicitors and judges — can be very unclear to the eyes of children” and the process could be made “a lot easier”.

The committee was urged to look at other countries and their maintenance systems for guidance and examination as to whether it would work in Ireland.