The State is to get tough on separated or unmarried parents who fail to contribute to the upbringing of their children.
The Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs confirmed yesterday it was initiating court action for the first time against three separated fathers who were refusing to pay maintenance.
The three files have been passed to the Chief State Solicitor's Office, and the court dates are expected to be set soon. Normally it is left to the mother to take such action.
A spokeswoman for the Department said that in the last year the Department's Liable Relatives Unit had saved the State £750,000 in getting payments from separated fathers. "There are one-third of fathers who are on social welfare, and we do not know the whereabouts of the other third. But it is the last third we are targeting," she said.
In the Department's business plan for this year, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, said his staff would initiate court actions for recovery of contributions due from relatives who refused to pay up.
He said cases in which the whereabouts of the deserting or unwed parent was known and where the individuals were known to have sufficient income to contribute to their children's upbringing would be pursued.
While it was open to parents bringing up children on their own to take former partners to court to seek maintenance, the Department was intent on taking a more proactive approach in cases where it was difficult for the remaining parents to take action themselves.
Last year the Department paid out more than £380 million to lone parents and £76 million to deserted wives. Under law men and women are required to maintain their dependent spouses and dependent children and those who fail to maintain their family adequately have to contribute to the cost of one-parent-family payment, lone parent allowance, deserted wife's payment or supplementary welfare allowance.
The Department has powers under the Social Welfare Act, 1993, to take an action to seek enforced payments of contributions by way of court instalment or attachment of earnings orders.