Child maintenance:
Ireland is decades behind other European countries when it comes to child maintenance. From our work with families and in family law, we know the current system is broken and needs to be reformed. In our policy submissions and policy papers, One Family, have called for the establishment of an independent statutory child maintenance agency to set and enforce child maintenance payments. We believe this will reduce parental conflict by taking maintenance out of parental interactions and ultimately reduce child poverty. We also call for maintenance to be non-means tested and seen as a payment for the child. In the next few weeks, we have a unique opportunity to make real progress on child maintenance and we need your help!
Why now?
The last Government before it left office established a group chaired by Justice Catherine Murphy to review Child Maintenance in Ireland. This group has just finished its review and we are waiting for the Minister of Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, to publish the report and its recommendations. We are expecting the report to be published before the Dáil recess in July 2022.
Share your story:
We are looking for parents to share their stories with us so we can highlight the issues the current child maintenance system is creating and to make sure TDs and Ministers understand the need for urgent action. .