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Survey to feed into child-maintenance guidelines

The Government has launched a public survey that will help the development of voluntary guidelines on the payment of child maintenance. 

This follows the publication last year of a Department of Justice review into how child-maintenance orders are enforced. 

The Review of the Enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders recommended the creation of a committee to develop guidelines that would help inform parents on how to make private child-maintenance arrangements. 

It described Ireland as “an outlier” in not having such guidelines in place. 

‘Useful and fair’ guidelines 

The committee, chaired by the Department of Justice and the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, is urging the public to share their views through an online survey launched today (8 April). 

Minister O’Callaghan described child-maintenance payments as “a critical source of stability and security” for children across the country. 

“Our aim is to design guidelines that are transparent, and which parents will find useful and fair,” he added. 

The survey, which is open until 2 May, is open to anyone living in Ireland.