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LAST MONTH, THE Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection issued a groundbreaking report on the welfare of lone parents.
The debate around lone parents in Ireland has traditionally been a dualistic argument around work or welfare. This report, arguably for the first time, introduces the third strand into the debate – the role of the absent parent in the welfare of their child.
We have a long history in Ireland of absolving absent fathers from responsibility (think mother and baby homes) and this tradition has continued, as we still have no statutory child maintenance body.
Facing a combative court system
Parents seeking maintenance must go to court and face a combative court system. If a court order is ignored, it is up to the parent to chase it through the courts system.
In reality, it can be difficult to ensure compliance. The only guaranteed option is an attachment of earnings, however, this can easily be circumvented if the non-custodial parent moves jobs or fails to tell the other parent, the name of their employer. Unlike property tax, revenue can’t deduct the payment at source.
In 2015, only one parent was jailed for not paying child maintenance, yet in the same period almost 10,000 people were jailed for not paying a court fine. Jail shouldn’t be the option for maintenance defaulters, but currently, we have no legal remedies for parents who refuse to pay.
If there is a court order in place, money is deducted from any social welfare payment due, whether it is paid or not, and this has meant parents are reluctant to pursue maintenance through the courts and risk losing money.
Increase in poverty rate for lone parent families
In 2012, Joan Burton introduced reforms to lone parent payments which cut the income of working lone parents and those in education and training.
The EU SILC (Survey on Income and Living Conditions) reports showed that since her reforms were introduced there has been a 50% increase in the consistent poverty rate for lone parent families, while concurrently there was a small reduction in the rate for the general population.
Children in lone parent families are now over three times more likely to live in poverty than children in two parent families and I believe a major reason for this is that one parent can legally “walk away”.
The Committee undertook a comprehensive analysis of the reforms introduced by Minister Joan Burton in Budget 2012 and included oral testimony from officials from the Department of Social Protection and representatives of various organisations such as St Vincent De Paul, Barnardos, Focus Ireland, One Family and SPARK.
Only a third of families now receive maintenance
As a result of changes made by Burton, the Department of Social Protection now writes to the non-custodial parent once the youngest child in a family turns 7 and informs them, they are no longer obliged to pay child maintenance, unless it is court ordered. This has resulted in a 28% drop of families receiving maintenance and according to the Department of Social Protection only a third of families now receive maintenance.
In March of this year, the UN CEDAW committee called on Ireland to consider setting up a statutory maintenance system. In this report, the Oireachtas Committee has now also called for a statutory child maintenance system and a review on how child maintenance is assessed by the Department of Social Protection. It is essential that Minister Regina Doherty considers the important findings in this report and acts on its recommendations.
Taking child maintenance out of contentious litigation can only help heal separated families. It can help lift children out of poverty and reduce the reliance of lone parent families on social welfare. International research has shown that when maintenance is being paid, there is a greater likelihood of a meaningful relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent.
If we are serious about tackling child poverty in Ireland, let’s start the debate around an enforced child maintenance system.
Louise Bayliss is a spokesperson for SPARK (Single Parents Acting for the Rights of Kids), and a graduate in Equality Studies from UCD.
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I bough basil, thyme, parsley, mint and coriander in Lidl and planted them outside and they are thriving. My herb shopping days are truly over.
IYou are lucky to get basil to thrive Derek,it can be a challenge in the Irish climate. As for mint, I hope you didn’t make the mistake of planting it in the open garden.
Both basil plants are sturdy and healthy looking thankfully and the mint, both of them got a bit of a pruning as they were growing to tall and stalky initially but doing well now. Is there something about mint I should know when grown outdoors?
I think mint plants tend to overtake flower beds. Like little Borg plants.
As Nicholas has touched on Derek, mint is an absolute thug, it will spread everywhere and is very difficult to control or eradicate. I would suggest you dig it out immediately and plant it in a pot, make sure you get every last bit.
As far as basil is concerned, it is unlikely to survive too long in the open ground in Ireland, too wet too dull and too cold. It needs to be in a pot in a sunny spot.
Sorry, I should have got what you meant, the mint is spreading all right but I do grab a few leaves for the kitchen and snip it back occasionally.
They spread their roots under ground and take over. Should have planted them in a container. On the plus side you’ll have plenty of mint next year.
That’s good to know, thank you, I’ll see about digging them out and potting them before they get out of hand.
the price of some native fruit here in the supermarkets is off the wall. when I think of my grandmothers garden and the stuff she used to grow. literally hundreds of Euro worth of stuff at today’s prices and at the time we didn’t think anything of it.
Great tips there, never heard of pine mouth before. Any way of knowing if the pine nuts are contaminated before you eat them? I love pine nuts, especially roasted in salads.
I had a bout of pine mouth a few years ago, was nasty and lasted about a week. It’s one of those things that isn’t really understood but anecdotally is thought to come more from imported Chinese pine nuts.
I haven’t touched pine nuts since either as it takes a few days to develop do there’s no way to tell if it’s coming.
Every drug dealers nightmare. A marijuana plant facing their house.
They grow very well in the tomatoe patch, just make sure your garden wall is high enough for a healthy plant to hide behind ;)
when i lived abrod i tryed to grow maruana but i kiled it by acident nd tryed to smoke dog poo insted lol. it is bad.
Sounds like a random thing you’d do anyway Ripper..
anonymous accounts can be funny at times but please give it a rest. there’s an open mic night near the HA penny bridge if you want to give reality a go
tank u jimmy. kevin will u go with me plz?
I love thyme and some other herbs and have tried to grow them in pots or window boxes but they didn’t last very long and were very poor to begin with. I must be doing the same caring things because I have tried a few times and failed. Very frustrating ! When my daughter moved house there was a beautiful Rosemary bush grown in the garden. Nice bonus !
I just checked the area under my nose and I found three varieties of herb.
A wash might help that, lol.
The live herb plants in supermarkets are really cheap and on par price wise with the few sprigs you get on the cellophane.
More of these please!
I had a rosemary bush in my garden every now and then I would spot a lady going into my garden and taking a snippet. The scent of rosemary was lovely but the bush became too much and I got rid of it.
I saw rosemarys bush one time,messy
Will someone tell me why no one grows Artemisia abrotanum (southernwood, lad’s love, southern wormwood) as it is as powerful smelling as any herb and no one grows it in their herb garden as it repels certain insects but is not for eating but a powerful smelling plant.
Borage is good for bees and a tea is made from the leaves that has herbal properties…
I have lovage as it smells nice and winter savory but never used them to cook with, some herbs can be nice just to have them due to what they smell like. With rosemary and hyssop which I grow as a flowering plant as well, these herbs can shoot up your blood pressure, so care needed there?
have your say