Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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487. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of child maintenance orders each year from 2018 to date in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58824/21]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions. Furthermore, as the Deputy will be aware, the making of a maintenance order is a matter for the presiding judge and I have no role in this regard.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has provided me with the figures set out in the table below. Applications for maintenance are brought under different sections of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976, as amended, depending on the personal circumstances of the parties. The Courts Service further advises that it cannot differentiate between spousal and child maintenance in the figures provided and that figures for this year (2021) are not yet available.