We have consistently pushed for a child maintenance service and we have welcomed the comments of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, in September signalling her intention to examine the establishment of a statutory child maintenance agency.

In her statement on the budget the Minister said she would establish a judge-led group to determine best international practice in maintenance, guidelines and regulations, which I can hope be put on a statutory footing. We are concerned about the references to "guidelines" and use of the word "hopefully". The Taoiseach is aware of Sinn Féin's Private Members' motion which will be taken tonight and calls on the Government to examine the best examples internationally of statutory child maintenance service models. Does he agree that we need to move to a statutory model in order that the difficulties and challenges faced by lone parents in having to go to court to obtain the maintenance payments to which they are entitled will be removed?

We discussed Sinn Féin's motion at the Cabinet meeting this morning when we decided as a Government not to oppose it because broadly our policy position is travelling in the same direction as that of Sinn Féin. The Minister has set aside funds in her budget for next year for research into the best models in place in other countries. It may well be a statutory model, but we first need to do the type of work advocated by the Deputy in examining child maintenance models in different jurisdictions, with a view to identifying what works best and applying it here. We accept that the current system in Ireland is not working as it should.