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

I am grateful to the Senator for not pressing the amendment because I cannot accept it, not because I disagree with anything she has said because I do not, as she knows, but because I do not have the responsibility, although I wish I did, to establish a maintenance recovery section because that matter falls within the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charles Flanagan. However, that is not to say I cannot do anything. I have a habit of sticking my nose in where it is probably not wanted. What I can do in my area is, as I said, establish a committee after Christmas to look at what we do within the Department. The Senator and any other Member interested is welcome to sit on that committee.

I really question the policy and hope that shows my intent because, if I am questioning it, I am obviously proposing to change it, if and when I can do so. I do not think it is right to ask any parent who has the responsibility to rear a child to chase an errant parent who has not meet their responsibilities in the first instance. The Senator and I both know that, in most instances, it is the man who is the errant parent, but, in many cases, it is not.

I want to look at the way in which we operate the one-parent family payment system which should be completely separate from the responsibility of a parent to chase the errant parent. This happens for many reasons. In many cases, it may be a question of control and manipulation, but, even at the very happy end of the scale where there are no big issues, the system still puts the onus and an added burden on the parent who is rearing the children and doing everything in meeting school and dentist costs and so on. We will establish the committee with a view to ascertaining very quickly what changes need to be made within the Department. I will be making the changes for the payments recovered by the maintenance recovery section. That is not to say, however, that we will have a maintenance recovery section in our division, but it will focus on the errant parent as opposed to the parent who is rearing the children. If we can do what the Senator wants us to do within the division, I will have responsibility for it and will pursue the matter. However, all of the other services available in the civil courts to those pursuing a partner for maintenance come under the Department of Justice and Equality. Whether it be the family mediation service or the Legal Aid Board, they come within the remit of the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan. If we were to have a national maintenance recovery agency, the most likely place for it to be located would within his remit. Because the responsibilities of the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, span the Departments of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and Justice and Equality, we will have an official to sit on our committee. Let us see if we can explore the issue. I am very happy to work with anybody, but what I cannot do is take responsibility for preparing a report that would not be within my remit. However, I can give my word that, within my Department, we will establish a committee to look at what we do from a one-parent family payment perspective and also at what is available in the maintenance recovery section. Perhaps we are focused on the wrong parent and that we need to realign. If that is what we decide to do, it is something we could do very quickly.