Skip to main content
Normal View

Court Orders

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2018

Tuesday, 27 November 2018

Questions (306)

Brendan Smith

Question:

306. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide detailed consideration to the issues raised by an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49299/18]

View answer

Written answers

As Minister for Justice and Equality, I have no role in the making of court orders in relation to maintenance. This is a function of the courts, which are, subject to the Constitution and the law, independent in the performance of their functions.

Under Irish law, issues arising from disagreements about the provision of maintenance for dependent children, or failure by persons with maintenance responsibilities for children to provide proper maintenance, are determined by the courts. Relevant legislation in this area includes section 11 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976, section 8 of the Family Law Act 1995, section 13 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 and section 45 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010. The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 provides for a number of improvements in the law relating to maintenance of children.

It is open to parents who have separated/divorced to decide between themselves on maintenance arrangements for their children. If they cannot agree, they can try to work out a maintenance agreement through mediation. However, if parents still cannot agree on maintenance arrangements, an application must be made to the courts for a maintenance order. If a parent/spouse/civil partner fails to comply with a court order or falls behind with payments where there is a maintenance order in place, an attachment of earnings order can be sought from the court, if the person is in employment or on a private pension. This order results in the maintenance amount being deducted at source by the employer of the parent/spouse/civil partner. A person can apply for an Attachment of Earnings Order when first applying for a maintenance order through the court, if they are concerned that maintenance will not be paid, or they can apply later if the maintenance is not paid. An enforcement summons can be applied for if the parent/spouse/civil partner is self-employed.

Under section 9A of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976, the District Court has the power to regard a failure by a parent/spouse/civil partner to comply with a court order as contempt of court and to deal with it accordingly, including by means of imprisonment. The maintenance creditor may apply to the District Court Clerk for a summons directing the maintenance debtor to appear before the District Court. The court will then hear evidence from the maintenance creditor and maintenance debtor including evidence about the financial circumstances of the maintenance debtor and, where relevant, the maintenance creditor.

The other issues raised in the correspondence are not within my remit as Minister for Justice and Equality. I have asked my officials to consult with officials reporting to my colleagues the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection in that regard and will comprehensively respond directly to the Deputy in due course.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to parliamentary question No. 306 of 27 November regarding issues raised by the Virginia and Kildrumferton Mothers’ Union. I undertook to consult with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection on those issues that were outside of my remit. I have been advised by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government that where victims of domestic violence require continued State support to meet their housing needs, housing authorities are encouraged to work with all service providers to ensure that a victim’s housing eligibility and need is assessed in a timely manner. A housing authority may consider a victim of domestic violence as having a housing need to be placed on a housing list where all other criteria are met.
The allocation of social housing is administered by housing authorities in accordance with their allocation schemes made under section 22 of the 2009 Act. In line with commitments in Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness(Action 1.8) and the National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2016-2021 (Action 2.30), the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has issued guidance to all housing authorities in relation to assisting victims of domestic violence with emergency and long-term accommodation needs. The guidance can be accessed using the following link to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government website: https://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/guidance_for_housing_authorities_in_relation_to_assisting_victims_of_domestic_violence.pdf.
The purpose of this guidance is to ensure an effective and consistent housing response for victims of domestic violence. The guidance covers a range of scenarios that may arise for victims of domestic violence in seeking social housing supports, including provisions around the use of the Housing Assistance Payment scheme, or the Rental Accommodation Scheme, where a victim has a joint interest in the family home, or ownership of alternative accommodation, but would otherwise qualify for social housing support.
Where affordable housing rather than social housing is appropriate, under Budget 2019, the Government has trebled, to €310 million, the funding available for key facilitating infrastructure on local authority sites, to support the provision of affordable homes to purchase or rent, under the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF). The type of affordable housing that will be delivered on local authority sites may be affordable housing for purchase, for example, under the recently commenced provisions of Part 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, or cost rental, which is being advanced on a number of pilot sites before being rolled out further. These initiatives complement other Government actions which help first-time buyers to buy a home, such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan.
The new Land Development Agency (LDA) will contribute significantly to the delivery of affordable housing. All of the State land developed by the LDA will include 40% social and affordable homes to purchase or rent.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection have advised that they provide a range of income supports, including the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA). This scheme is considered the "safety net" within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need. Entitlement to SWA is conditional on satisfying the habitual residence condition with some exceptions. SWA can consist of a basic weekly payment and/or a weekly/monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses a person may not be able to meet. It can also consist of a once-off payment to help with the cost of any exceptional needs. A basic weekly SWA payment may be made to a person who is awaiting the outcome of a claim for a primary social welfare payment.
Under the SWA scheme, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. ENPs unlike other payments under SWA, are not subject to the habitual residence condition. There is no automatic entitlement to these payments which are payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case, in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance. Where a claimant’s safety and wellbeing are at risk due to domestic violence, Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection officials administering the SWA scheme have discretionary powers to expedite the award of a payment to the person in question. Any person who wishes to apply for income support under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, should make contact with the Community Welfare Service at their local INTREO centre.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social protection also offers supports to people parenting alone through the One-Parent Family (OFP) payment and the Jobseeker’s Transitional (JST) payment. OFP is targeted at those whose youngest child is aged under 7 years and is a means-tested payment. JST is targeted at those whose youngest child is aged between 7 and 13 (inclusive), and is also means-tested. Lone parents whose youngest child has turned 14 may apply for the Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) scheme. All of these schemes have earnings disregards to allow the lone parent to work and still receive all or a portion of their payment, depending on the scheme conditions.
I hope that this information is of assistance to the Deputy.
Top
Share