New child maintenance guidelines don't add up
Child maintenance affects all parents, regardless of relationship status or income.
On Monday, January 19, one of the most significant reforms in family law in decades was quietly published after 5pm by the Department of Justice. The Child Maintenance Guidelines, launched by justice minister Jim O’Callaghan earlier that day, introduce sweeping changes to how child maintenance will be calculated in Ireland.
The 51-page document sets out a new framework for determining maintenance obligations, and an online child maintenance calculator is expected to follow, allowing parents to estimate likely payments without going to court.
Child maintenance affects all parents, regardless of relationship status or income. Ensuring children have food, shelter and stability is a core function of the family, and disputes about maintenance are among the most frequently litigated issues in the district court and in circuit court separation and divorce proceedings.
Until January 19, 2026, the district court typically ordered a weekly amount per child based on the paying parent’s income, usually the father, and was intended to cover basic living costs such as accommodation, utilities and food.
Courts also routinely ordered the payer to also contribute 50% of “reasonable costs,” including education, childcare, dental and medical expenses. Without guidelines or formulae, outcomes across Ireland varied widely.
The new system replaces this uncertainty with a formula-based “income-shares model” that considers the gross income of both parents (excluding One-Parent Family Payment and Supplementary Welfare Allowance). For the first time, a “self support allowance” is introduced: €17,998 of each parent’s income is ring-fenced to protect against poverty before liability is calculated.
Maintenance will now also be adjusted based on the number of days each parent cares for the child. A “day” of parenting time includes overnight, or, where overnights are not feasible, eight-hour equivalents within a 24-hour period.
However, it must be mutually agreed by the parents it is not possible for the non-resident parent to have the children overnight. A parent must have at least 14% of care time to trigger significant reductions. For parents below the €17,998 threshold, an “absolute minimum” payment of €5 per week applies; maintaining a culture of contribution while ending the routine practice of ordering social welfare recipients to pay up to 20% of their benefits.
With ministerial consent, we conducted empirical research in the district court, observing 17 full family law lists across five districts, involving 11 judges and 360 cases. Published in 2021 in the , our analysis found maintenance awards typically ranged from 15-25% of the payer’s after tax-income, plus 50% of reasonable costs. The median order was €50 a week, about €30 per child. We also identified cases where parents on social welfare were paying €20-€30 a week for one or two children. The system was ad hoc, heavily reliant on judicial discretion, and often influenced by a perceived moral obligation to pay.
The guidelines use a tiered “cost of children” table based on combined household income and the child’s age. The figures are derived from the CSO Household Budget Survey 2022–2023, which sampled 1,737 two-parent households out of about 1.3 million households with children in Ireland. The survey was not designed to calculate the cost of raising a child, and the economic modelling is subtle, relying on six income tiers and eight household categories (for example two children of 0-11, three+ children of 12+).
For example, a couple with a combined income of €50,000 (after deducting the €17,998 disregard for each parent) with two children aged under 12 years old would be expected to spend 12c of every euro up to €44,927 and 10c of every euro from €44,928 to €50,000. This produces a total estimated annual cost of €5,898.44. Based on our research, this appears low.
If the non-resident parent has 100 days of parenting time a year, they receive a 24% care credit. If that parent earns 70% of the parties’ combined income (after the self-support allowance), the new calculations would see them paying €2,713 a year, which is €52 per week for two children. In similar cases under the old system, we would have expected €100–€140 per week. Inflation adjusted Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice figures for two children aged five–11 living in an urban area suggest a minimum cost of €198 per week, far above the new guidelines’ estimate.
Comparing district court outcomes with the new guidelines, it appears while the model produces arguably fair results for higher earners, the estimated cost of children for lower-income households is significantly below what ours and other research indicates to be suitable.
The guidelines do not include education, childcare, medical and disability related costs, categorising them as “exceptional expenses” to be agreed separately. Without clear guidance on how these costs should be shared, disputes may persist, keeping families in court rather than diverting them away.
Internationally, child maintenance guidelines are widely recognised as a way to reduce litigation, support parental agreement and promote consistency. Where private agreements cannot be reached, courts can apply the guidelines to ensure predictable outcomes. The move to an income shares model is a positive and more equitable development.
However, the care credit mechanism, the maintenance deduction for parenting time, significantly reduces the non-resident parent’s obligation once the 14% threshold is crossed, and based on our research the banded income approach appears to underestimate the real cost of raising children, particularly younger children and those in low-income households.
While the guidelines represent a major step forward, the exclusion of reasonable costs and the potential for underestimation risk leaving some families without adequate support. Ireland has taken a bold step toward a more transparent and predictable maintenance system, that the guidelines indicate can be referenced by judges in making orders. The challenge now is ensuring the model reflects the real cost of raising children and does not disadvantage the poorest.
- Dr Róisín O’Shea was a ministerial appointee on the Child Maintenance Review Group 2021-2022, and is an adjunct senior lecturer in the School of Law at UCC andchair of the Irish Professional Mediators’ Organisation.
- Dr Sinéad Conneely BL is a senior law lecturer at South East Technological University.
- Shane Dempsey is a partner in Arc Mediation, a data analyst, and the deputy chair of the Irish Professional Mediators’ Organisation.
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