The Gazette 1976

GAZETTE

March 1976

tion, maintenance for them can be continued from 16 to 21 years. Desertion includes constructive desertion. Periodical payments are to be made from the date the order is made (S. 4). Under S. 5, for the first time, a husband may apply for maintenance against his wife if she is the breadwinner and circumstances warrant it. 1 he Court may grant or refuse the discretionary order. Under the 1886 Act the Court could only award weeklv payments, but S. 5 allows the Court more flexibility, as henceforth payments are to be made for such period as the Court thinks proper; this power of limiting pay- ments is important, particularly in cases where the marriage breaks up within the first few months. Any person who is looking after a dependent child of parents will be entitled to seek maintenance in respect of it. Henceforth the conduct of a spouse will have no effect nn the child's right to maintenance. Under the 1886 Act, a wife was not entitled to maintenance unless she had been deserted. Henceforth, even if adultery is established, it is still open to the Court to make an allowance if it thinks it proper having regard to all the circumstances, includ- ing the income, earning capacity and property of the spouses, and the financial responsibilities of the spouses towards each other and towards their dependants. A maintenance debtor may apply to the Court for the discharge of the order at any time after one year from the making of it (S. 6). S. 7 enables a Justice for the first time to make interim maintenance orders subject to a report by the Probation Officer. Section 8 states that certain marital agreements made after the date of the coming into force of the Act whereby one spouse undertakes to make periodical payments towards the maintenance of the other or of dependent children, may be varied by an application to the High Court or Circuit Court; the Court, if satisfied that the agreement is fair and reasonable, may make an order which shall be deemed to be a maintenance order. By S. 9, irres- pective of what Court made the order, payments to be made by the maintenance debtor, are payable to the District Court Clerk, unless the creditor requests other- wise; the clerk is to pay the payments to the creditor. Part I II (Sections 10 to 20) deals with attachment of earnings. Application can be made for an attachment of earnings order either to the High Court, Circuit Court or District Court. This is in substitution for what is termed an "anticedent order". Where an attachment of earnings order is served on an employer, he is bound to comply with it, but must give the maintenance debtor full particulars each time lie makes a deduction. The maintenance debtor may, however, make payments to the District Court Clerk in lieu. Apart from that, the Court may order the main- tenance debtor to make an accurate statement as to his earnings. While the order is in force, the maintenance debtor must notify the Court of all changes in employ- ment and in earnings. If there is doubt as to whether specified payments are earnings, the employer or the maintenance debtor may apply to the Court to construe the matter. Various penalties are provided for non- compliance. Part IV of the Bill, headed Miscellaneous, contains useful reforms. Following Rimmer v. Rimmer (1953) 1 Q.B., S. 21 declares that any allowance made by one spouse to another for the purpose of meeting household expenses shall belong to the spouses as joint owners, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. By S. 22, on the application to the relevant Court by a wife on the ground that she and her family require it, the Court may order the husband to leave the residence, and prohibit him from entering it. An Order made by

a District Court or a Circuit Court shall expire three months after the date from its making, but may be renewed for further periods of three months; the juris- diction of the Circuit Court is limited to premises where the Poor Law Valuation does not exceed'£100. Nor- mally the District Court, and on appeal the Circuit Court, may make maintenance orders of up to £40 per week in respect of the wife, and of £10 per week in respect of each child. Phis extension of the power of the District Court will greatly increase the number of cases brought before it. Payments made under the Bill are to be made without any deduction of income tax. All proceedings under this Act, regardless where made, are to be held in camera, and all costs under the Act are at the discretion of the Court. By S. 28, proceedings under the Illegitimate Children (Affiliation Orders) Act, 1930, are henceforth to be held in camera, and payments may- be continued until the age of 21 if the child concerned is receiving full education. The maximum sum payable under the Act has been increased from £50 to £200, and the names of the parties concerned cannot be published. Payments of periodical sums shall continue to be paid by the putative father, unless these sums are compounded into a lump sum, or the child dies, or the child attains 16 years or 21 years as the case may be. All the former law in regard to payments previous to this Act is repealed. The procedure under the Maintenance Orders Act, 1974, is as follows : A summons is issued as under the 1886 Act. Specified documents are then sent to the Master of the High Court. The solicitor should supply the substance of the complaint, the address in Britain of the respondent, means to identify him. The Master passes these documents to the relevant authority in Britain. The proceedings are then served on the respon- dent, and the British authorities notify the Irish auth- orities of the service. The Court may then hear the case

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