Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is not just a question of the Department chasing errant parents but of combatting poverty. The poverty statistics among lone parents, as the Minister is aware, are particularly stark. In many cases somebody is not in a position to go to court because their partner is violent. Even when they do go to court and do not get paid the Department tends to assess them for maintenance which the court has granted but which they are not being paid.

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