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

I believe we are on the same page so I will not split hairs. What the Deputy has just put on the record of the House, however, is not a true reflection of our decision on liable relatives. In the vast majority of those 18,000 cases the people pay maintenance directly. They do not come through us, so it is not a fair reflection of the work of the people in that unit that only 2,400 or thereabouts make payments through it. The unit tries to have family members engage with each other rather than sticking its nose in the middle and acting as an enforcer. Where an arrangement is made between two parents, that arrangement is monitored by the unit. It only steps in and issues an enforcement notice where there is no such arrangement. That is why the number is so low. In the first instance, we try to keep those in the family unit as amicable as they can be despite their separation.

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