€695m paid in one-parent payments in 2004

Over 70,000 separated parents are not making a contribution to reimburse the Department of Social and Family Affairs for the cost of one-parent payments provided to their former partners, the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told yesterday.

The secretary general of the Department of Social and Family Affairs John Hynes said there were around 2,000 separated parents making such contributions.

He said the department received around €2 million last year in contributions from separated parents towards the cost of one-parent payments. Around 80,000 people were receiving these payments. In 2004 the department paid out €695 million in one-parent family payments.

Mr Hynes said in pursuing persons who were not contributing towards the cost of the payments the department had to take account of the number of absent parents who were receiving social welfare.

There was a limit on the amount which the department could seek in reimbursement in such circumstances. The main focus of the department was on absent parents who were in employment.

The Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell said there may be a need for a plan and follow-up campaign if a real improvement was to be made in relation to maintenance payments.

A spokeswoman for the department said last night there were just over 900 widowed persons included in the 80,000 people receiving one-parent payment, and in these cases maintenance was not an issue.

She said not all separated parents had been asked to make contributions. "In the period January 2003 to December 2005, the maintenance recovery unit examined 56,032 cases and issued determination orders to 8,017 liable relatives. As at the end of January 2006 - the latest date for which figures are available - 2,193 liable relatives were contributing directly to the department."

Meanwhile Mr Hynes said the department expected that there would be up to 15,000 applications from citizens of EU accession state countries for child benefit here this year.

The number of applicants had increased from 80 per week last year to over 300 per week at present.

Bernadette Lacey, director general social welfare services, said the increase was due to publicity earlier this year and an information campaign on entitlements in Poland.