10.—(1) (a) On application—

(i) to the High Court by a person on whose application the High Court has made an antecedent order,

(ii) to the Circuit Court by a person on whose application the Circuit Court has made an antecedent order,

(iii) to the District Court—

(I) by a person on whose application the District Court has made an antecedent order, or

(II) by a District Court clerk to whom payments under an antecedent order are required to be made,

the Court to which the application is made (subsequently referred to in this section as “the Court”) may, to secure payments under the antecedent order, if it is satisfied that the maintenance debtor is a person to whom earnings fall to be paid, make an attachment of earnings order.

(b) References in this subsection to an antecedent order made by any Court include references to such an order made, varied or affirmed on appeal from that Court.

F44[(1A) (a) Where a court has made an antecedent order, it shall in the same proceedings, subject to subsection (3), make an attachment of earnings order in order to secure payments under the antecedent order if it is satisfied that the maintenance debtor is a person to whom earnings fall to be paid.

(b) References in this subsection to an antecedent order made by a court include references to such an order made, varied or affirmed on appeal from that court.]

(2) An attachment of earnings order shall be an order directed to a person who (at the time of the making of the order or at any time thereafter) has the maintenance debtor in his employment F45[or is a trustee (within the meaning of the Family Law Act, 1995) of a pension scheme (within the meaning aforesaid) under which the maintenance debtor is receiving periodical pension benefits] and shall operate as a direction to that person to make, at such times as may be specified in the order, periodical deductions of such amounts (specified in the order) as may be appropriate, having regard to the normal deduction rate and the protected earnings rate, from the maintenance debtor’s earnings and to pay the amounts deducted, at such times as the Court may order—

(a) in case the relevant antecedent order is an enforceable maintenance order, to the District Court clerk specified by the attachment of earnings order for transmission to the person entitled to receive payments made under the relevant antecedent order F46[or, where appropriate, to the competent authority],

(b) in any other case, to the person referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection or, if the Court considers proper, to the District Court clerk specified by the attachment of earnings order for transmission to that person F47[or, where appropriate, to the competent authority].

F48[(3) (a) Before deciding whether to make or refuse to make an attachment of earnings order, the court shall give the maintenance debtor concerned an opportunity to make the representations specified in paragraph (b) in relation to the matter and shall have regard to any such representations made by the maintenance debtor.

(b) The representations referred to in paragraph (a) are representations relating to the questions—

(i) F49[whether the person concerned] is a person to whom such earnings as aforesaid fall to be paid, and

(ii) whether he or she would make the payments to which the relevant order relates.]

(4) An attachment of earnings order shall—

(a) specify the normal deduction rate, that is to say, the rate at which the Court considers it reasonable that the earnings to which the order relates should be applied in satisfying the relevant antecedent order, not exceeding the rate appearing to the Court to be necessary for the purpose of—

(i) securing payment of the sums falling due from time to time under the relevant antecedent order, and

(ii) securing payment within a reasonable period of any sums already due and unpaid under the relevant antecedent order and any costs incurred in proceedings relating to the relevant antecedent order which are payable by the maintenance debtor,

(b) specify the protected earnings rate, that is to say, the rate below which, having regard to the resources and the needs of the maintenance debtor, the Court considers it proper that the relevant earnings should not be reduced by a payment made in pursuance of the attachment of earnings order,

(c) contain so far as they are known to the Court such particulars as it considers appropriate for the purpose of enabling the maintenance debtor to be identified by the person to whom the order is directed.

(5) Payments under an attachment of earnings order shall be in lieu of payments of the like total amount under the relevant antecedent order that have not been made and that, but for the attachment of earnings order, would fall to be made under the relevant antecedent order.