Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
669. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection the up-to-date the position in relation to ending the campaign to pursue former partners for unpaid child maintenance and where a former partner continues to pay support to their former partner/family; if this will be deducted from the payment to the person in receipt of social welfare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35591/23]
View answerThe Report of the Child Maintenance Review Group was published last November. The Government accepted the Group's recommendations in relation to the social welfare system. I am pleased to say that, pending the introduction of the necessary legislation, my Department has already implemented some of the recommended changes on an administrative basis.
My Department is no longer applying the "efforts to seek maintenance" requirement to One-Parent Family Payment and Jobseeker's Transitional Payment. This had been done on an administrative basis since the end of last year. However, I have since signed a Regulation to remove this requirement from the statutory provisions. This requirement often involved lone parents having to go to Court to seek a maintenance order, so this change removes a potential additional stress for them, as well as helping to reduce the burden on our courts system.
In addition, the liable relative provisions are not being applied to new claims for One-Parent Family Payment. This means that my Department will no longer seek to recoup a portion of claim costs from the non-resident parent in these cases. I want to be very clear that removing these provisions does not replace or supersede the primary responsibility of parents to maintain their children.
Furthermore, child maintenance payments will be disregarded in the means test for social welfare payments. This measure will mean that many lone parents currently on reduced rates of payment will see their payment increase and some additional lone parents will qualify for a payment. It is estimated that this measure will be of direct benefit to approximately 16,000 lone parents at a cost of approximately €10 million per year.
These are very significant reforms of the social welfare system which will be of great benefit to lone parents. These changes require amendments to both primary and secondary legislation as well as changes to some of my Department’s systems, application forms and processes. Work on the legislation to remove the is at an advanced stage. I have recently received Government approval to draft the changes to primary legislation required in relation to the liable relatives provisions and the means test. In the meantime, as I have already mentioned, on an administrative basis, the liable relative provisions are not being applied to new claims.
