Ms Louise Bayliss:

I thank the Joint Committee on Justice for the opportunity to talk to members about the issues regarding the enforcement of court orders. SPARK is a peer-led advocacy and support group for lone parents. We offer unique insights into the lived reality of parenting alone in Ireland.

Parenting alone is extremely challenging and while co-parenting with a non-cohabiting second parent is preferable, this is not always possible, especially in cases where abuse has been historically present. Many parents are able to agree to access, custody and child maintenance without recourse to the courts and in other cases, parents may agree terms through mediation and will then enforce this through a legally binding court order. The problem, however, is where parents cannot agree on these issues and need to go to court where a judge decides the matters. The fact that parents are not able to agree to these fundamental issues without recourse to the court system can in itself indicate that there may be ongoing conflict, and non-compliance of court orders is likely.

The courts issue orders on the basis of compliance and once the order is issued, to a large extent, it is expected that the matter is complete. However, many of our members experience post-separation abuse through the non-compliance of court orders involving maintenance and access. Cosc, the national office for the prevention of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, recognises non-payment of child maintenance as financial abuse. Yet, as we rely on courts that predicate their position on compliance being the norm, many lone parents will continue to experience ongoing conflict and, in the end, may forfeit maintenance rather than continuing through a court system that for many feels ineffective.

In our most recent research from April 2022, 36% of respondents claimed they were owed an average of €8,300 in maintenance arrears but had given up pursuing it and were no longer using the courts to enforce maintenance orders. Many parents report that a parent will fail to turn up for enforcement hearings and a court can do nothing until a bench warrant is executed. That is very problematic as there is no prosecuting guard. Other options such as attachment of earnings can be circumvented by the debtor changing employers.

Access is also an issue for many parents. This can be both where access to the child is denied or where a child is prepared for an access visit and is left waiting when a parent fails to turn up. For too many parents, access and maintenance are linked. The biggest loser in this scenario is a child, who may have a damaged relationship with a non-custodial parent. We believe that maintenance and access should be seen as two separate issues. This could be achieved by a statutory maintenance agency that deals effectively with finance and which should take the conflict of payments from a family and allow children to have healthy relationships with both parents, if appropriate. Family law and non-compliance of court orders is a very complex issue to discuss in such a short time but I would be happy to answer any questions members may have.