There is a legal responsibility in Ireland on both spouses to maintain each other and any children in accordance with their means. Maintenance can be paid voluntary or as a result of a maintenance order granted by the courts. More information about how to apply for and enforce maintenance is available in our document 'Maintenance orders and agreements'.
If you are applying for a social assistance payment you must satisfy a means test. All your sources of income (for example, employment, capital, cash income and maintenance) are assessed by the Department of Social and Family Affairs (DSFA). This document only explains how maintenance is assessed in the means test. More information on other sourses of income and how they are assessed is available in our document about the means test.
All income from maintenance is assessed as means. This includes both maintenance for you and maintenance to you for any of your children. If you are getting maintenance from more than one person it will be added together and the total will be assessed as means.
However, if you are cohabiting and your partner is getting maintenance, payments made specifically for the maintenance of children are not assessable as means. All the maintenance is taken into account if there is no breakdown in the payment specified.
Your rent or mortgage repayment up to a maximum of €95.23 per week can be offset against maintenance payments. Half the balance of maintenance is then assessed as means and your social welfare payment will be reduced by that amount. You must provide proof of rent or mortgage payments.
| Example |
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A single parent with one child is getting maintenance of €150. The maintenance order specifies €50 for the parent and €100 for the child. Rent is €100 per week. Maintenance €150.00 Total One-Parent Family Payment €205.80 |
If you were getting one of the payments listed above before 2003 you may qualify to have your maintenance assessed using the old rules. The Department of Social and Family Affairs provides more detailed information about these rules and the assessment of maintenance as means.
If you are getting Jobseeker's Allowance any maintenance paid to your parent on your behalf is assessed as benefit and privilege against you. If a portion of the maintenance is paid directly to you this portion is assessed as cash income against you and the remainder which is paid to your parent is assessed as benefit and privilege.
If you are getting Disability Allowance any maintenance in the form of cash income from either parent is assessable as means.
If you apply for a social assistance payment all maintenance paid to you will be assessed. However, if you are cohabiting and your partner is getting maintenance, payments made specifically for the maintenance of children are not taken into account.
A means test examines all your sources of income (for example, employment, capital, cash income and maintenance) to find your total means. When the total means for a married or cohabiting couple is calculated, only half will be taken into account.
However, if you are getting JA, PRETA, FA or DA your means are only halved if your spouse/partner is getting certain social welfare payments, a HSE payment, or is on a FAS or VTOS course and getting an allowance in his/her own right. If your means are halved for JA, PRETA, FA or DA, you will not get an increase for a qualified adult but you will get a half-rate increase for each qualified child.
More information about married or cohabiting couples can be found in our document on the means test.