Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh chinn an Bhille seo. Reachtaíocht luachmhar a bheidh ann, agus beidh an-tionchar aici i measc na teaghlaigh atá i gceist. I welcome the heads of the Bill. It is an important reform. It is something my predecessor, Deputy Claire Kerrane, did a lot of work on over a number of years trying to highlight it, and I am glad we are moving forward.

This is not something for the Department to address but, as I have the opportunity, I will put on record that, while I know this relates more to the Department of Justice, it is my view that a child maintenance agency is the best approach. The circumstances of this vary enormously from the highly contested to the relatively amicable. My fear is that while, obviously, the courts as an option should and will always exist for the highly contested cases, the approach that is being recommended and that the Government is arriving at will create situations in which what could have been amicable ends up being relatively contested because it is brought into the legal sphere. I think that is a mistake. I think there is scope for an agency to facilitate where there is a co-operative relationship. That can be up and down and can vary and so on, but I think that scope should exist with the option always to progress to the family courts. I just put that on record in respect of the agency. The issue of whether maintenance should be included in means tests is somewhat separate in any event, and it is important to proceed with that regardless.

I have two questions and they are kind of related. On an administrative basis, is this already being applied?

My other question comes not from my office directly but through one of my colleagues. I understand, and maybe the witnesses could shine a light on this, that in some retrospective cases where there has been a review into income for existing claimants, it has not been possible to disregard child maintenance. Is that correct, as things stand, if there is a review of an existing claimant?