Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I could probably send several cases to the Minister albeit I do not have them directly. Kinship Care, a subsection of Treoir, highlighted this issue to me. Kinship Care met the guardian's payment deciding officer relatively recently. As far as that meeting was concerned, the deciding officers were unaware of the recent change of maintenance not being factored into entitlements for other payments.

This was not something they were aware of and they went on to explain that irregular maintenance, or pocket money, can be deemed to be a parental contribution. It is not about the child's means rising above a certain level. It is about the fact there is a contribution happening at all being considered a contradiction to the fact there is parental abandonment happening.

I will send as much information as I can. I am of the view that maintenance information should be excluded from applications altogether. If that is the Minister's view also will she confirm that? Any disallowed recent applications due to maintenance or pocket money should either be reviewed or people should contact the Department to reapply. People have lost out here not because the child is over an income level but because the contribution itself, by definition, contradicts the supposed test.

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