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

I know what he would like to see; I am somewhere in between. We will have that meeting with the Department of Justice and Equality later this month. I will come back to the Deputy and we will have a conversation on how best to progress it. I am aware of the UN recommendation.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has generous disregards with regard to maintenance. Income is income into a household. Why would the State give the same money that is already coming into a household for a child a second time? The Deputy cannot discount that is there; there certainly is a disregard for it. The Deputy cannot discount that somebody is bearing the financial responsibility towards their child. It would be errant for the State to make a payment twice. We can certainly have a conversation about the Deputy's belief that it should be a higher payment. That is a different discussion. However, he cannot discount. We are talking about ensuring that people are bearing their responsibilities for looking after their own children. The Deputy wants us to say, "Don't worry about them doing it. It's grand. We'll give you extra money anyway." I do not agree with that.

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