CHILD MAINTENANCE SURVEY

APRIL 2022

Ireland has no data on child maintenance. We do not know how many parents are in receipt of child maintenance, the average child maintenance payment per child and more importantly compliance rates of child maintenance orders. Child maintenance is a major source of stress for lone parents in SPARK, where it should be seen as a source to help lift children out of poverty. As there is no data on child maintenance, the only data can be provided by parents.  SPARK undertook a child maintenance survey (251 respondents), and the results are published below. The results strongly support our call for a central statutory maintenance agency, that would decide child maintenance payments and ensure compliance with payments.

In 2017, the UN CEDAW (Committee on the elimination of discrimination against women) recommended to Ireland to “Consider establishing a statutory authority and prescribing amounts for child maintenance in order to reduce the burden on women of having to litigate to seek child maintenance orders” (UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 2017).  In January 2020, Minister Regina Doherty announced that a Maintenance Review group was commissioned to examine international best practice in relation to maintenance payments and to examine how Ireland can achieve better outcomes in a proactive manner for families. This group was due to present it’s report to Minster Heather Humphreys before Easter 2022, and we are awaiting publication of the report shortly.

SPARK has long argued that child maintenance should not be a court matter. Courts are adversarial and the ‘in camera’ rule means there is a lack of transparency in how maintenance is calculated. The courts have a limited function, as although they issue court orders, they do not follow up to ensure the enforcement of the court order and it is up to the custodial parent to follow up with further litigation to try to enforce compliance. Children in lone parent households are over 6 times more likely to live in consistent poverty than children living with 2 parents with 3 or less children. The consistent poverty rate for lone parent households is 21.6%, while it is 3.5% for children in a two parent household (SILC, 2021).  Research (Skinner et al, 2007) has indicated that if lone -parent families received all the child support they are entitled to, child poverty rates among lone parent households would be halved.

Research (Hakovirta, 2011) has shown that in the UK, there was a 30 % reduction in the poverty gap as a result of child maintenance payments (where there was compliance with orders). We believe that child maintenance could play a pivotal role in reducing child poverty in lone parent households. In addition, parents who pay child maintenance are more likely to have frequent contact with their children than those who do not pay child maintenance (Wikeley, 2008) (Amato, 1999).

Headline Results

• 35% of parents reported receiving maintenance without arrears.
• 36% of parents are owed significant maintenance arrears but have given up looking for it.
• 8% of parents are owed arrears and are pursuing it through the courts.
• 23% of parents have never looked for maintenance.
• The average maintenance arrears owed is €8,313

Survey Responses

Issues identified by parents

• ‘Attachment of Earnings’ orders are for specific employers and once the non custodial parent moves jobs, the order is no longer valid. Why can’t the orders be associated with a PPSN, similar to property tax?
• Court orders are generally static and do not incorporate cost of living increases. Parents have had the same maintenance amount for years, and this is particularly noticeable now with cost of living increases.

Why are you not seeking or enforcing maintenance?

• History of domestic violence.
• Afraid to upset fraught relationships and change access.
• Belief it won’t be paid but that it will be deducted from social welfare, and they will be worse off.
• Afraid it will result in losing a medical card.
• Can’t afford solicitor but not entitled to legal aid.
• Worn down from constantly bringing enforcement cases to court and getting arrears wiped off.
• No current address for the liable parent.

References

Amato, P. a. (1999). “Non-resident fathers and children‟s well-being: a meta-analysis‟. Journal of Marriage and the Family 61 (3), 557-73.

Christine Skinner, J. B. (2007). Child support policy: An International Perspective. London: Department for Work and Pensions, Research Report No.405.

Hakovirta, M. (2011). “Child maintenance and child poverty: a comparative analysis‟. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Volume 19,, 249-262.

SILC, EU (2021). Survey on Income and Living Condtions 2020. CSO.

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). (2017). Concluding observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Ireland. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Concluding observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Ireland, 9 March 2017, CEDAW/C/IRL/CO/6-7, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/596f48a94.html [.

Wikeley, N. I. (2008). Relationship separation and child support study. London: DWP Research Report No.503.