Landmark judgments against absent fathers

The Department of Social and Family Affairs has secured four landmark judgments against men for failure to contribute to the costs of one-parent family payments for their wives and children.

The judgments, the first of their kind in Ireland, indicate an increased determination on the part of the Department to pursue liable absent parents who fail to pay towards their children's upkeep.

There are further cases "coming down the track", said a spokeswoman.

"We are drawing attention to these four cases to make it clear that if people don't get in touch with the Department, don't make adequate arrangements, we will come after them. We will take it all the way and this is not an idle threat."

The four men were ordered at a family court hearing in Dublin in the past number of weeks to pay at least €100 per week to the Maintenance and Recovery Unit of the Department.

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, said her Department would continue to prosecute any liable relative "who fails to co-operate or who default on their contributions".

"I take a strong view of this type of behaviour," she said. "When agreements to provide support are broken the remaining lone parent is forced to rely on social welfare payments. This burdens the system and is inherently unfair on the lone parent and any children."

All four liable fathers had failed to make contact with the Department prior to the court hearings and failed to turn up at the hearings.

They had failed to comply with requests from the Department to make a contribution to the cost of one-parent payments.

Wherever a one-parent family payment is awarded, the Maintenance Recovery Unit of the Department will seek to trace the liable parent involved to ascertain whether he or she can contribute to the cost of that, a spokeswoman explained.

She said all liable parents assessed by the unit are issued with a determination order setting out how much they should contribute. They are asked to get in touch with the unit and are sent two reminders. If after this the parent fails to contact the unit, the parent will be pursued through the courts.

"The amount assessed can be reviewed where there is new information about, or changes in, the financial or household circumstances of a liable relative," said the spokeswoman.

The Department demanded regular, normally weekly, payments.

It should be noted that the unit will only seek maintenance payments from an absent parent where the lone parent is receiving benefits.

The Department's maintenance recovery programme is empowered to prosecute non-compliant parents under legislation introduced in 1990 and amended in 2000. Its recovery process is expected to yield €14.9 million this year through contributions from complying liable relatives and reductions in lone-parent payments.