Vol. 465 No. 4
163 Mr. Gallagher (Laoighis-Offaly) asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to make provision for the division of child dependant allowances on a pro-rata basis between separated spouses who have agreed shared custody arrangements in their legal separation agreements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9932/96]
The question of dividing child dependant allowances on a pro rata basis between separated spouses, who have agreed shared custody arrangements, raises the issue of parents who both fulfil a contingency on an equal but partial basis. Current provisions focus on issues, such as the normal residence of the child, and the question of maintenance, in determining the payment of child dependant allowances in cases where parents have separated. The allocation of these payments on a pro rata basis has significant policy and administrative implications across a range of social welfare schemes, and these are being considered by my Department in the context of the introduction of the one-parent family payment in early 1997.
