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Calls for dedicated State service to pursue parents who fail to pay child maintenance

Support services for lone parents have pointed out that the adversarial and costly courts route is the only option available.

 THE GOVERNMENT HAS been urged to establish a dedicated child maintenance service which would remove the burden from lone parents in cases of non-payment. 

Support services for lone parents have pointed out that the only option available now if a liable parent refuses to pay maintenance is to pursue them through the courts.

They have said this process is adversarial, costly and time-consuming, but if parents want to receive certain State supports they have to show that they sought maintenance payments in the courts. 

A review group comprised of legal, policy and academic professionals as well as officials from the department of Social Protection and Justice submitted a review of the child maintenance system to Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys in April.

The minister has yet to issue a response, but one of the three areas the group was tasked with considering was the establishment of a child maintenance service in Ireland.

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Social Protection Claire Kerrane has been urging the government such a service to support lone parents and their children. A similar service is already in place in Northern Ireland.

Speaking to The Journal, she said if was “disappointing” that the report submitted in April was not published before the Dáil recess.

“It’s been an issue for a long time and it causes great difficulty for lone parents,” she said.

The establishment of a child maintenance service is one of a number of recommendations made in a 2021 position paper by the National One Parent Family Alliance, which is made up of nine national organisations including Barnardos and the Children’s Rights Alliance.

The report noted that in Ireland child maintenance is seen largely as a personal, parental obligation and therefore a matter of private family law.

“There is no state agency with responsibility for child maintenance payments and pursuit of maintenance is left up to the claiming parent on behalf of their child,” it said.

“Where a maintenance agreement cannot be reached by parents privately, they are forced to seek maintenance through an adversarial, costly and time-consuming court system.”

A survey by One Family in 2016 on shared parenting found that the most common financial problem identified by respondents was non-existent or insufficient child maintenance payments.

The National One Parent Family Alliance has said processes in the courts are difficult to enforce, precipitate protracted and often hostile parental negotiation, contribute to poverty and have little regard to the safety of those who have been subjected to domestic abuse, violence, coercion and financial abuse. 

“From our work with families, we are aware that there is a significant rate of non-compliance with child maintenance orders significant delays in the courts system and a high cost involved in engaging a litigious route,” it said.

The organisation also pointed out that courts cannot issue summons for maintenance unless the custodial parent can provide an address for the non-custodial parent and this is not always known.

Although a bench warrant can be issued of the liable parent fails to appear at proceedings, the organisation said this is rarely acted upon as there is no prosecuting garda involved. 

It recommended the establishment of a statutory maintenance agency  to ensure State is responsible for assessment and enforcement. Where a parent cannot or does not pay, it said the State should ensure the maintenance is paid and recoup the funds later from the liable parent. 

The Northern Ireland service collects unpaid maintenance in a number of ways, including deducting money owned from earnings or a bank account.

The service can also take the liable parent to court to take action to recover unpaid maintenance, including an order that would prevent the sale of a property owned by the parent, or ultimately the forced sale of the property. If these methods fail the service can apply to have the parent disqualified from driving or to send them to prison.

Kerrane said the current system in Ireland is “messy” because the court system is not “the right environment” for these matters as there is a lack of consistency to the approach taken.

“It all depends on the judge of the day and on what they decide, and even then once its court-ordered it doesn’t guarantee payment,” she said. “It’s a very messy system and an unfair system at the moment.”

She said she is hopeful that the department will publish the report and announce its plans ahead of the September budget announcement so that measures to address the issue can be included in the government’s financial plans for next year.

Kerrane said the estimated cost of initial set-up and first year of operation for such a service is €2.5 million.

In response to a query from The Journal, Minister Humphreys’s department said she was giving the report “the careful consideration that such an important and complex issue deserves”. 

“Given that the report relates to a broad range of issues that are beyond the scope of the social welfare system, the minister is also consulting her government colleagues,” the department said. 

“Once the report has been fully considered, the Minister intends to bring it to Government, at which time a decision regarding the publication date will be made.”

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    Mute Luke Sarpish
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:31 PM

    So basically we have to apologise for everything we say.

    271
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    Mute Jbob How
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:35 PM

    Only the stupid shit. I don’t know how that affects you…

    124
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:42 PM

    I lost a close friend a year ago. I would not be able to joke about it now because the pain is so bad. He was right to apologise. Just because someone is famous it does not mean people don’t have the same pain.

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    Mute Lurfic
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:51 PM

    Deborah you should try joking about it. It’s a very good way of helping yourself get through it.

    92
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    Mute Wolves 1966
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:55 PM

    Jon Snow should have to apologise for being Jon Snow. Channel 4 would be a much better place without the likes of him.

    11
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    Mute Luke Sarpish
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    Jan 16th 2016, 6:19 PM

    I’m sorry for your loss Debbie.Ok.

    40
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    Mute Enda Kenny
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    Jan 17th 2016, 4:33 AM

    @ Deborah Behan

    sorry

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    Mute Keith D'Arcy
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:32 PM

    You can’t even joke about the dead now. The PC brigade have finally put a nail in that coffin.

    156
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    Mute Patrick Hurley
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    Jan 16th 2016, 9:14 PM

    Remember when that French comic made a joke about that dead Arab fella.

    19
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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:28 PM

    FFF… There’s always room for a bit of humour. The joke wasn’t funny but he’s worse to apologise.

    119
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    Mute Enda Kenny
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    Jan 16th 2016, 8:10 PM

    Kevin Costner was gonna play Michael Collins (and direct)

    Alan loved working with Costner on robin hood prince of thieves

    i reckon the ‘dances with wolves’ stars involvement is what attracted Rickman to the project

    he was probably ashamed of himself for being involved in what Neil Jordan eventually made

    same as Gabriel Byrne was ashamed of what Jim Sheridan did with Gerry Conlon

    3
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    Mute Len Brennan
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    Jan 16th 2016, 8:37 PM

    Did you for get to take your tablets again Enda?

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    Mute T Beckett is back
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    Jan 16th 2016, 8:57 PM

    @Ek

    The Costner interest in Collins is true, but it was Jordan that pitched for that film. He got Rickman involved.

    Costner probably would have been more historically accurate though!

    Don’t know what you’re on about with Gabriel Byrne but I’d take Danny Day over him any day of the week ;)

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    Mute Enda Kenny
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    Jan 16th 2016, 9:06 PM

    would an irish actor make a film that glorified

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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Jan 16th 2016, 9:24 PM

    True Enda Kenny and guess who’s script they were going to use.

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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Jan 16th 2016, 9:26 PM

    I’ll give you one guess… Otherwise I won’t tell you.

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    Mute Enda Kenny
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    Jan 17th 2016, 4:31 AM

    @ T Beckett is back

    imagine the hatred british people must have had for DDL when he made in the name of the father

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    Mute Cosmo Kramer
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    Jan 17th 2016, 5:08 AM

    DDL played Gerry Conlon.. An innocent man framed by the British for murders he didn’t commit.. Why would British people have hatred for him playing that part??

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    Mute Grumpeee Oldman
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:49 PM

    Kinda funny though… Would Mr Rickman have minded?

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    Mute Walter Black
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:56 PM

    Mountain out of a molehill

    56
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    Mute David McShite
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:05 PM

    One of those moments when something seems funny in your head until it escapes and is savaged by the delicate flowers looking to be injured by any perceived slight.

    50
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    Mute Vinnie_the_yute
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:29 PM

    Injured on behalf of a dead person they have no connection with whatsoever.

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    Mute Rasputin
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:54 PM

    I wonder how they’d handle us Irish where in the face of even overwhelming tragedy the first thing out of our mouths is usually a joke…

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    Mute Harry Whitehead
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    Jan 16th 2016, 7:24 PM

    Unless Richard Wilson himself has complained, I fail to see what gives everyone else the right to take offence on his behalf. Still, you’ve got to hand it to these self-appointed guardians of decency – they never waste an opportunity. As usual, they leapt aboard the outrage bus faster than Usain Bolt at the 100 metre finals.

    38
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    Mute @dela
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:37 PM

    Look once he realised himself it didn’t sound right I’m cool with that. If he apologised cos of some tweets I know we’re near Armageddon. Especially tweets from weirdos who live, sh|t, breathe and fester by that medium.

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    Mute Shane Gubbins
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:44 PM

    You know nothing jon snow.

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    Mute Neil Holland
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:31 PM

    What’s it like to be so predictable?

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    Mute Shane Gubbins
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:37 PM

    You must be fun at parties

    16
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    Mute Tom Burke
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:28 PM

    Some people are just waiting to be offended.

    28
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:47 PM

    Ordinarily I would agree but the pain of losing someone is so great that this joke in the week they died is simply horrible. Could you joke about your friends death the week they died?

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
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    Jan 16th 2016, 7:07 PM

    People need to lighten up a bit .

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    Mute ted hagan
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    Jan 16th 2016, 8:28 PM

    Yea lighten up a bit people. It was only someone’s death we’re talking about. Anyone got any jokes?

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    Mute Suzie Sunshine
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    Jan 16th 2016, 8:36 PM

    The joke was aimed at Wilson so he wasn’t being disrespectful towards Alan . no harm done .

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    Mute Kieran Roche
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    Jan 16th 2016, 10:00 PM

    I really dont know why I read this tripe

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    Mute Hugh G. Johnson
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:30 PM

    Well as Richard Douchet has already proven, British journalists are masters of putting ones foot in their own mouth.

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    Mute Con O'Donnell
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:28 PM

    I don’t believe it!!

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    Mute Kirsha Sova
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:40 PM

    Not just bad taste ,but also a terrible joke .

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    Mute Grot Master
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    Jan 16th 2016, 4:50 PM

    Generation Wuss, indeed.

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    Mute Evelyn Murphy
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    Jan 16th 2016, 8:34 PM

    Absolutely ridiculous. People need to get a grip on themselves. We won’t be able to say anything at all soon for fear of upsetting someone. Alan Rickman would uave probably appreciated the joke for goodness sake.

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    Mute Evelyn Murphy
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    Jan 16th 2016, 8:37 PM

    *have*

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    Mute Enda Kenny
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    Jan 17th 2016, 4:39 AM

    @ Evelyn Murphy

    once obama was elected people started sniffing around looking to be offended and when there isn’t anything to be offended by.. t

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    Mute Patrick Fitzgerald
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    Jan 16th 2016, 8:12 PM

    There is a big difference from saying something offensive to saying something in bad taste or some thing stupid or something really awkward. He made a tit of himself and apologised. There is no mention in the article or the tweets about masses of people taking offense. If you just read the comms here youd swear the whole world was up in arms about. Calm down lads. He was right to apologise out of respect alone. Red thumb away

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    Mute FlyingDogThing
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    Jan 16th 2016, 11:30 PM

    You know nothing Jon Snow.

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    Mute Eugene Walsh
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:05 PM

    All these celebrity DJ, tv anchor newsreader types, tv hosts and presenters need all to be put out to pasture. Sick to the back gnashers of the lot of em. Condescending, contemptuous, over bearing over paid egotistical self righteousness and centred maggots. Ya you heard me !!

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    Mute Peter McGlynn
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    Jan 16th 2016, 5:27 PM

    What u expect from a man that knows nothing.

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    Mute James Stratford
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    Jan 17th 2016, 6:02 PM

    Saw the interview, didn’t cross my mind that it was inappropriate at all. Was a very personal and difficult enough conversation to have, I thought Jon Snow did his job admirably and it was a moment that lightly trivialised the sad news, which is exactly the normal human response to dealing with something tragic that we don’t want to believe has happened. I’d say most people upon hearing the news of Rickman’s passing couldn’t believe it. It was perhaps just a subtle side note that ironically the person who was famous for the phrase could sadly believe it all too well.

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