Ms Louise Bayliss:

Basically, we have worked very closely with the Department of Social Protection. We have met the maintenance review group, including Judge Catherine Murphy. We have welcomed the report that four of the seven members have said they did favour the maintenance enforcement agency. We would have thought that was positive. The Minister decided not to go with that but she passed it over to the Department of justice.

We have not had a lot of engagement with the Department of justice, but when it did issue the strategy, which was in January 2024, there were some really strong recommendations, including using Revenue to collect the maintenance, having guidelines and all of these really positive moves. We have not heard anything in the past 20 months or so and that is disappointing. We have all of the research from the ESRI and the Growing up in Ireland survey that only slightly more than a third of children are being supported. It is a lever.

There are two benefits of child maintenance. One is that there is a reduction in child poverty when it is enforced properly, with very little cost to the State. The second benefit, and almost equally as important, is that there is better engagement with the parent who is paying maintenance, if he is paying maintenance. That research is there and evidenced. That would be a benefit not just financially but in terms of the connection with the two parents. That is an important note.