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

Definitely, new claims are not liable. We have changed the rules on the administrative basis for new claims. I will have to revert to the Deputy on whether, based on the review, it has been possible to make the changes. I will double-check.

The legislation is a bit more complex than we initially thought. Different parts of it, both secondary and primary, are affected, so the officials have to go through them all in detail to ensure every aspect of the three measures is covered. When we make the changes, we want to ensure we get it right. It has taken a little longer than we thought but we are applying the disregard where we can on an administrative basis.

I am pleased to say that I expect to have Government approval for the legislation very shortly. I will be bringing a memorandum to the Cabinet and I will then bring the legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I thank the chair of the Child Maintenance Review Group, former judge Catherine Murphy. I acknowledge Deputy O'Leary's predecessor in this area, Deputy Kerrane. She too was very passionate about the subject, on which we had good conversations and very constructive discussions. Senator Lynn Ruane is also very passionate about the subject and she too has done a lot of work on it. As the Deputy knows, I worked in a credit union and saw at first hand the issue that the Deputy is raising. It was something I wanted to do something about, so we will move as quickly as we can.

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