Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will also oppose the section. As I indicated at the outset, we consider this change to be incredibly regressive and we are very disappointed that none of the recommendations tabled by Members on different sides of the House has been accepted this afternoon. The Minister indicated at the start of his contribution that he accepts the principle that it is more expensive for people to maintain two separate homes when separated or divorced on the same income as they had when they maintained one home. Nevertheless, the Minister is pushing ahead with provisions that will make it next to impossible for some families to provide their children with proper quality of life. As my colleague, Senator O'Brien, mentioned earlier, people will have to go through unnecessary court cases to unpick maintenance agreements that were very carefully calculated in the first place. Families may have hoped to move on in making those provisions and looked to focus on doing what was right for their children but now they will end up back in court, with all the costs coming from that. Parents will be unnecessarily forced to social welfare and overall family income will be pushed down. It is a completely misguided and unjust effort so we will be opposing the section.