Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
798. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps being taken to address ongoing difficulties in the enforcement of court ordered maintenance arrangements, particularly in cases where repeated non-payment occurs but arrears are cleared immediately prior to court hearings, resulting in matters being struck-out without judicial consideration of the pattern of breaches. [39310/26]
View answer799. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether consideration is being given to reforms that would allow courts to examine patterns of repeated non-compliance with maintenance orders, even where arrears have been discharged shortly before a hearing, in order to prevent the system being used to avoid accountability. [39311/26]
View answer800. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the measures in place to protect individuals from incurring significant legal costs in pursuing enforcement of maintenance orders, particularly where proceedings repeatedly collapse due to last minute payments; and whether reforms are being considered in this area. [39312/26]
View answer801. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average time taken to bring enforcement proceedings for maintenance arrears before the courts; and whether delays in progressing such cases are being examined as part of broader justice system reform. [39313/26]
View answer802. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the supports available for lay litigants in family law proceedings, particularly those seeking to enforce maintenance orders without legal representation; and whether additional measures are planned to ensure they are afforded fair access and adequate time before the courts. [39314/26]
View answer803. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the frequency with which attachment of earnings orders are granted in maintenance cases; and whether the threshold for granting such orders is being reviewed in light of repeated non-compliance scenarios. [39315/26]
View answer804. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any assessment has been carried out into whether individuals with higher incomes or professional standing are better able to delay or avoid enforcement of maintenance obligations; and the safeguards that exist to ensure equality before the law in such cases. [39316/26]
View answer805. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Department has examined the broader social and emotional impact on parents and children arising from prolonged enforcement disputes in family law; and the supports that are available to affected families. [39318/26]
View answer806. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether consideration is being given to the establishment of a more robust, centralised system for the collection and enforcement of maintenance payments, similar to models in other jurisdictions, to reduce reliance on repeated court applications. [39319/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 798 to 806, inclusive, together.
It is important to note that the management of the courts and the conduct of court proceeding is a matter entirely for the Judiciary and the Courts Service. The courts are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions.
No court fees are charged on any family law proceeding, or on any matrimonial cause or matter, including maintenance.
Applications for civil legal aid and advice in maintenance cases can be made to the Legal Aid Board.
It is open to an applicant seeking enforcement of a maintenance order to seek their legal costs from the respondent. It is a matter for the Court as to whether an order for costs will be made in the circumstances of the case, and as to how the behaviour of any party should be considered in making such a determination on costs.
The Review of the Enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders, completed by my officials, was published in 2024. 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 include:
• Development of a set of child maintenance guidelines.
• Running an awareness campaign highlighting the importance of paying child maintenance and promoting a ‘culture of paying’.
• Strengthening attachment of earnings orders, including by 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; permitting attachments on social welfare payments and benefits; as well as enabling the court to grant attachment of earnings orders automatically, without representation, if the paying parent defaults.
• 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. This would enable the courts to ensure enforcement difficulties and patterns of non-compliance with court ordered maintenance orders are addressed by the court in the most timely and effective manner possible.
• 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.
• Consolidating and simplifying maintenance legislation, which would be particularly beneficial for unrepresented litigants navigating maintenance proceedings.
The Programme for Government commits to enhancing the enforcement mechanisms for child maintenance orders to ensure that children receive the financial support they need from both parents. In line with this commitment, the development of legislative amendments required to give effect to the Review’s recommendations is underway.
On 19 January this year, I published Ireland’s first set of Child Maintenance Guidelines, along with the report on the public consultation. The published guidelines and accompanying report can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/publications/child-maintenance-guidelines-for-ireland/.
The Guidelines are compatible with Irish legislation on child maintenance and can be used by the courts. However, the courts are not obliged to consider the guidelines when making child maintenance orders. The objectives of the 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.
An accompanying online child maintenance calculator was also launched on 26 February 2026. It is available at https://childmaintenancecalculator.ie/. The guidelines and accompanying calculator are a first for Ireland and a significant step forward to improving fairness, consistency and transparency when parents are making child maintenance arrangements. The child maintenance calculator is intended as a voluntary support tool to help parents begin the process of working out an appropriate amount of child maintenance for their child or children. In line with another recommendation in the Review, my Department also undertook a social media campaign in October 2025, to reinforce the importance of paying child maintenance and complying with Child Maintenance orders.
Additionally, the Family Courts Act 2024 will introduce important changes to the delivery of family justice in Ireland once commenced. The Act contains a number of provisions to ensure the family courts are more focussed on the needs of children, efficient and user-friendly as well as less costly. The Act provides for the establishment of family courts as divisions within the existing court structures, namely a Family High Court, a Family Circuit Court and a Family District Court, each dealing with family law matters as appropriate to its jurisdiction. Judges who have specialist training or experience in dealing with family law matters will be assigned to the Family Court divisions, providing for improved levels of judicial expertise as well as the streamlining of proceedings in all family law matters, including maintenance.
The Act includes a set of guiding principles for all family law proceedings to which all parties to proceedings will be required to have regard to. The principles include, but are not limited to:
• In family proceedings in which the welfare of a child is involved or likely to be affected, ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in the conduct of the proceedings.
• Conducting proceedings in a manner which is user-friendly, accessible, efficient, minimises conflict between the parties as far as possible, and is likely to minimise costs.
The Implementation Plan for the Act was published in April 2026. The plan identifies a phased roll-out of the new system as the best approach to implement the Act, taking account of the needs of court users, staff, and practitioners. Over three phases, designated family courts will be stood up incrementally across the country commencing in January 2027, bringing the new system into operation in selected locations over a series of stages before a full national roll-out. A planning phase dedicated to setting up the necessary foundations to stand up the first tranche of family courts is already under way and will run until the end of this year.
Data on court proceedings is collected and managed by the Courts Service. The Courts Service have advised that data on the frequency with which attachment of earnings orders are granted in maintenance cases and the average time taken to bring enforcement proceedings for maintenance arrears before the courts is not readily available.
Enforcement proceedings are initiated by the maintenance creditor against the maintenance debtor. In relation to the average time taken to bring enforcement proceedings for maintenance arrears before the courts, I am advised that this can occur at any time over the lifetime of the order (which could have effect for many years if there are children involved). I am further advised that the Courts Service cannot provide an average time to bring enforcement proceedings, as it is dependent on the circumstances of each individual maintenance creditor, nor can they provide a median processing time for maintenance enforcement.
The Courts Service website provides Plain English guidance on enforcement of maintenance, available at www.courts.ie/guides/maintenance-not-paid.
