Ms Saoirse Brady:

Some members of the Children's Rights Allowance have brought this to our attention. For example, one family advocated, and continues to advocate, for a child maintenance agency like the one in Britain because there are difficulties in getting the maintenance. The issue of money can exacerbate an already tense situation and the fallout usually lands on the children in the withholding of access visits. There is something in looking at that idea.

Maintenance is also sometimes used in terms of social welfare access and social welfare payments and there were measures in the 2019 budget to address that. We will hopefully start to see a streamlining of that. An agency that could be put in place to address the real issues in family issues should be explored.