Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There will be a North-South Ministerial Council meeting on Friday and I will be happy to hear from my counterpart in Northern Ireland as to how its child maintenance agency works. I thank the Deputy for that suggestion.

This is a complex issue. As the Deputy knows, parents have a responsibility to pay maintenance for their children. However, some do not pay. I saw that at first hand when I worked as a manager of a credit union, where parents - mainly women - were down at the breadline because they could not get their maintenance payments. It was a very difficult time for them. As such, I am glad that the review group has been established and I look forward to its findings. I am happy to work with the Deputy on this matter. It is something that impacts on women in particular. I want to see improvements in the area.

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