“‘child’ means any child who is under the age of sixteen years, or, if he has attained that age—

(i) is or will be or, if an order were made under this Act providing for periodical payments for his support, would be receiving full-time education or instruction at any university, college, school or other educational establishment and is under the age of twenty-one years, or

(ii) is suffering from mental or physical disability to such extent that it is not reasonably possible for him to maintain himself fully.”;

“(2) An application for the issue of a summons or other process under this section may be made only—

(a) before the birth of the illegitimate child in respect of whom the application is made, or

(b) within three years after the birth of the child, or

(c) where the alleged father of the child contributed to the maintenance of the child within three years after the date of the birth of the child, at any time after the contribution, or

(d) where the alleged father of the child was not resident in the State at the date of the birth of the child, at any time not later than three years after the alleged father first takes up residence in the State after that date, or

(e) where the alleged father of the child was resident in the State at the date of the birth of the child but ceased to be so resident within three years after that date, at any time not later than three years after the alleged father first takes up residence in the State after that cesser.”;

“(5) Proceedings under this Act shall be conducted otherwise than in public.”;

“(6) It shall not be lawful to print or publish or cause to be printed or published any material relating to proceedings under this Act which would tend to identify the parties to the proceedings.”;

“(10) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the provisions of section 9 of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976, shall apply in relation to an affiliation order subject to the modifications that the reference in subsection (4) of the said section 9 to the maintenance creditor shall be construed as a reference to the person to whom payments under the order would, apart from this section, be made by virtue of subsections (3) and (4) of section 9 of this Act and the other references in the said section 9 to the maintenance creditor shall be construed as references to the person on whose application the affiliation order was made.”;

“4.—(1) A periodical payment under an order under this Act shall commence on such date, not being earlier than the date on which the order is made, as may be specified in the order.

(2) Every periodical sum payable by a putative father under an affiliation order shall, subject to subsection (3) of this section and to any variation in the amount thereof made under this Act, continue to be payable for such period as may be specified in the order.

(3) Every periodical sum payable by a putative father under an affiliation order shall cease to be payable on the happening of whichever of the following events first happens, that is to say:

(a) the death of the child in respect of whom the said periodical sum is payable;

(b) the commutation under this Act of such periodical sum by payment of a lump sum;

(c) the termination of the said periodical sum by an order under section 5;

(d) the attainment by such child of the age of sixteen years, unless at the time of the making of the order or at any time thereafter before the attainment by the child of the age of sixteen years, the District Court, on account of the educational needs of such child or on account of a physical or mental disability of the child, has ordered otherwise;

(e) the attainment by such child of the age of twenty-one years, where the Court, on account of the educational needs of such child, has ordered that payments be made on his behalf after he has attained the age of sixteen years.

(4) (a) Where an affiliation order, whether made before or after the commencement of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976, has been discharged by the District Court under section 5 of this Act or where payments under an affiliation order have ceased to be payable by virtue of this Act, the District Court may, at any time thereafter, notwithstanding anything in this Act, by order direct the making by the putative father of payments of such amount, at such times and for such period as the District Court may specify while the person for whose benefit the order was made is a child.

(b) An order under this subsection shall be deemed, for the purposes of section 3 (10) of this Act, subsection (1) of this section, sections 5 and 6 of this Act and section 31 (1) of the Adoption Act, 1952, to be an affiliation order.

(5) On the death of a putative father liable to pay a periodical sum under an order under this Act, the liability for the payment of such periodical sum shall attach to his estate as a civil debt and such periodical sum shall be recoverable accordingly by the person to whom it is for the time being payable.

4A.—Where it appears to the Court on application to it by any person, that a parent of a child has failed to provide such maintenance for the child as is proper in the circumstances, the Court may make an order that the parent make to that person periodical payments for the support of the child for such period during the lifetime of that person, of such amount and at such times as the Court may consider proper.

(2) The provisions of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976, relating to maintenance orders shall apply, with any necessary modifications and adaptions, in relation to an order under this section.

(3) The Court shall not make an order in relation to a parent of a child under this section if an affiliation order or an order under section 4 (4) of this Act requiring that parent to make payments for the benefit of the child is in force or that parent has made provision for the child by an agreement under which, at or after the time of the hearing of the application for the order under this section payments fall to be made and in relation to which an order under section 10 of this Act has been made unless—

(a) the parent is not complying with the affiliation order or the order under the said section 4 (4) or the agreement, as the case may be, and

(b) the Court, having regard to all the circumstances thinks it proper to do so,

but, if the Court makes the order under this section, any amounts falling due for payment under the affiliation order, the order under the said section 4 (4) or the agreement, as the case may be, on or after the date of the making of the order under this section shall not be payable.

(4) In this section—

‘Court’ shall be construed in accordance with section 23 of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976; ‘parent’, in relation to a child, means the mother of the child, the putative father of the child, or a person who has made provision for the child by an agreement in relation to which an order has been made under section 10 of this Act;”

“(3) A Justice of the District Court, on the application of the person by whom a periodical sum is payable under an affiliation order, shall discharge the order if it is satisfied that the person for whose benefit the order was made has ceased to be a child.”.