I welcome the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, to the House.

I thank the Minister for being here today. In 2024, the previous Minister published the review of the enforcement of child maintenance orders. There were 26 recommendations grouped under three approaches, a consensus-based approach, a compliance-based approach and a deterrence-based approach. I acknowledge the Minister's work on the matter of child maintenance and efforts on the implementation of these guidelines.

Every day, in every room we sit in, chances are we are in the company of a parent raising children or a child without any form of maintenance being paid to them by the other parent. That is a disgrace. It is indefensible for someone not to be willing to step up and own their responsibility by financially providing for a child they have brought into this world is indefensible. Child maintenance is not a bonus or a luxury used to get your hair done, go on holiday or buy a car. It is not optional. It is a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that children that you have brought into this world have their needs met and are provided for. Anyone raising children knows it costs money to meet their needs. Children do not survive on fresh air.

If a parent does not pay maintenance, what happens? The answer is often "very little." The parent who should be receiving the payment must go back to court repeatedly, at their own expense, taking time off work, arranging childcare and reliving conflict, all while the child, who, I repeat, was brought into the world by two parents, continues to go without. Compare this with how we collect taxes, fines or social welfare overpayments. Those systems work efficiently, with money tracked, payments enforced and consequences that are real. When it comes to child maintenance, however, which is money that directly affects children's well-being, there is no automatic follow-up and no assumption that a missed payment is urgent.

To recover arrears through the District Court, a parent must complete detailed applications, file multiple copies, arrange personal service of documents, swear statutory declarations, meet strict deadlines and attend court hearings, often repeatedly. Any small mistake can delay the case or cause it to be struck out entirely, forcing the parent to start again from the beginning.

If the paying parent is employed, an attachment of earnings order may be sought. If that parent is self-employed, unemployed or evasive, enforcement becomes even more difficult. Even when non-payment is proven, outcomes can include adjournments, variations of the order or further delays, while arrears continue to grow and children continue to go without. Other countries that have centralised child maintenance service agencies that calculate payments collect them and enforce them automatically. These systems reduce conflict, ensure consistency and, most importantly, put children first.

We need a system that recognises child maintenance as essential rather than optional, one that enforces responsibility fairly and consistently, and stops forcing parents to fight the same battle repeatedly just to secure what their children are entitled to. This is the heart of the problem. The system relies on persistence rather than protection. It rewards delay, avoidance and non-compliance, while exhausting the parent who is already carrying the financial and emotional load.

Child maintenance should not depend on how resilient or legally confident a parent is. It should be enforced consistently, efficiently and automatically. Child maintenance is about dignity, stability and fairness. Our children deserve a better system than one that looks the other way. It is time we fixed it.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Costello as an gceist a chur. Is ceist fíorthábhachtach í do na tuismitheoirí, go háirithe tuismitheoirí os comhair ár gcúirteanna.

I thank Senator Costello for raising this important issue. The issues the Senator has identified clearly reflect the importance of child maintenance and of receiving child maintenance and the significance attached to being a parent. As she indicated, my Department carried out a review of enforcement of child maintenance orders. The review, which was completed two years ago, on 8 January 2024, made 26 recommendations.

The key recommendations required the development of a set of child maintenance guidelines, the introduction of mandatory mediation information sessions for child maintenance applications, the strengthening of attachment of earnings orders and exploring the possibility of attaching an order to a personal public services, PPS, number rather employing entities. Also, there was the proposal to introduce a single enforcement procedure when the receiving parent makes an enforcement application. This would allow the judge to choose the most appropriate enforcement option. It was also recommended that there be simplification of the bench warrant process and that the onus be placed on paying parents to pay costs associated with enforcement proceedings. Finally, it was recommended that there be a provision put in place for deductions from social welfare, the paying parent's bank accounts and Government grants and subsidies, and allowing for the recovery of arrears from tax refunds.

An interdepartmental group was then established in February 2024. It was tasked with the responsibility of setting a series of child maintenance guidelines for use by all parties on a voluntary basis and with the development of an online calculator to help determine fair child maintenance payments.

The objectives of the child maintenance guidelines include: establishing consistent, fair and predictable amounts of maintenance for children whose parents are not together; increasing transparency; reducing conflict and tension between parents since they will know what the appropriate payment should be; and reducing the number of child maintenance applications made to the courts in order to ensure consistent treatment of parents and children in similar circumstances.

In April 2025, the child maintenance guidelines committee conducted a survey-based consultation to get the views of the public. I am pleased to inform the Cathaoirleach and Senator Costello that on Monday last, I published Ireland's first set of child maintenance guidelines along with the report relating to the public consultation. The aim behind the published guidelines is to improve fairness, consistency and transparency and reduce conflict when parents are making child maintenance arrangements. The guidelines will be voluntary for parents and can also be used voluntarily by the courts. The courts will find them of great assistance.

I will shortly launch the innovative new online child maintenance calculator, which will help parents to make private arrangements directly where possible and appropriate. In line with another recommendation in the review, my Department undertook a social media campaign in October 2025 to reinforce the importance of paying child maintenance orders. As a number of recommendations in the review will require legislative changes, work on examining those changes is taking place within my Department. Officials in the Department are liaising with other organisations and bodies to implement the other recommendations in the review, which I outlined and which, I know, Senator Costello wants to see implemented. As a large proportion of civil justice proceedings relate to family law, it is important that we have a consistent and transparent method of making child maintenance calculations in order that people will not have to go through the process of very complicated applications in court and will know that there is a procedure available for them to be objectively and fairly calculated.

I thank the Minister for his response. When he took up this role, I knew that there would be movement in this area because I had spoken to him about it previously. He understood at that time how important it was, and it was something he had worked on prior to taking up his current role. In that context, I am happy with today's response. I am happy that he took the 26 recommendations seriously and that he has made certain moves, particularly as this was a priority for him previously. Prior to his being in this role, I had asked the question and there had not been as much movement. What he listed out today is really positive. Conflict resolution and the avoidance of conflict between parents is important. The Minister is making really good strides in achieving that, so I thank him.

Family law is the aspect of law that affects the majority of people in the country. Fortunately, most people do not end up before the courts. If, unfortunately, you find yourself in a family dispute and there are children involved, you probably do need to go before the courts. It is important that we, as legislators, ensure that the system for family law in place is fair, efficient and helpful to people who come before the family courts. Our sole objective should be trying to facilitate the individuals before the courts. It is not about lawyers or judges; it about the litigants.

The calculator for the maintenance guidelines will be coming in shortly. I urge Senators to have a look at the maintenance guidelines that were published. A huge amount of work went into them. The calculator sets out a very mathematical and logical basis for people to calculate how much maintenance should be paid. It is based on the financial capacity of the parents and the amount of time they devote to the children. Other resources are also taken into account. It is a very useful tool. I urge all Senators to have a look at it.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House this morning. It is it is greatly appreciated by Members.