Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 January 2026
197. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the measures the Department is taking to implement child maintenance enforcement reforms, in particular for self-employed parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4734/26]
View answerThe Review of the Enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders, completed by officials in my Department, was published on 8 January 2024. It was one of the actions contained in the “Supporting Children” goal of the Family Justice Strategy. The Review put forward 26 recommendations focused on generating maximum compliance with child maintenance orders, to ensure security and stability for children and to aid poverty prevention. The key recommendations of the review include:
• Development of a set of child maintenance guidelines.
• Introduction of mandatory mediation information sessions.
• Strengthening attachment of earnings orders and exploring the possibility of attaching an order to a PPS number rather than employing entities, so that orders do not lapse when there is a change in employer.
• Introduction of a single enforcement procedure when the receiving parent makes an enforcement application, allowing the judge to choose the most appropriate enforcement option based on the circumstances of the case.
• Simplification of the bench warrant process.
• Placing the onus on paying parents to pay costs associated with enforcement proceedings.
• Introduction of an information sharing agreement between Revenue, the Department of Social Protection and the Courts Service.
• Allowing for deductions from social welfare, the paying parent’s bank accounts, from government grants and subsidies and allowing for the recovery of arrears from tax refunds.
An interdepartmental group (“The Child Maintenance Guidelines Committee”) was established in February 2024 to develop a set of child maintenance guidelines for use by all parties on a voluntary basis when putting child maintenance arrangements in place, along with an online calculator to help determine fair child maintenance payments. The objectives of the child maintenance guidelines include:
• To establish fair, consistent and predictable amounts of maintenance for children whose parents are not together.
• To increase transparency, consistency and predictability for those seeking and paying child maintenance.
• To reduce conflict and tension between parents by making the calculation of child maintenance more objective.
• To reduce the number of child maintenance applications made to the courts by giving parents guidance in setting the levels of child maintenance and by encouraging private maintenance agreements.
• To ensure consistent treatment of parents and children who are in similar circumstances.
• To promote a culture of payment of child maintenance.
The guidelines were published on 19 January 2026 and are a voluntary tool for parents, to assist them in coming to private child maintenance arrangements. The guidelines may also be of assistance to courts who may have regard to them as they see fit in appropriate cases. The guidelines were informed by a public consultation in April 2025, and the report of that consultation was also published on 19 January 2026. An accompanying child maintenance calculator is now in the final stages of development and is due to be launched shortly.
In line with another recommendation in the Review, my Department undertook a social media campaign in October 2025, to reinforce the importance of paying child maintenance and complying with Child Maintenance orders.
As a number of recommendations in the Review require legislative change, work on developing heads of legislation has begun. Officials in the Department are liaising with other organisations and bodies to implement the other recommendations in the Review.
