Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Whether we expand or downgrade our liable relatives division has no impact on a parent's poverty whatsoever because the payment issued to the parent is done on the basis of that parent's circumstances. If they get maintenance there is a very generous maintenance disregard. If they do not get maintenance it is not included in our assessment. They do not get it and we compensate for the fact that they do not get it. That is as it should be. The Department is here to look after people in vulnerable positions. If they get money towards maintenance they get a generous disregard. If they do not get money it is up to the State to ensure that family has a minimum standard of living.

I need to square the circle of whether it is the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection's legal responsibility to chase errant parents or that of some other arm of the State, or maybe a collective authority from the Department of Justice and Equality and our Department. Until I figure that out, I am not going to put any woman, and it is in the main women, in the vulnerable position of having to chase somebody so that she can qualify for a payment from our Department. That is not the way it should be and that is not the way it is now.

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