Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976
Maintenance order.
5.—(1) (a) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, where it appears to the Court, on application to it by a spouse, that the other spouse has failed to provide such maintenance for the applicant spouse and any dependent children of the family as is proper in the circumstances, the Court may make an order (in this Act referred to as a maintenance order) that the other spouse make to the applicant spouse periodical payments, for the support of the applicant spouse and of each of the dependent children of the family, for such period during the lifetime of the applicant spouse, of such amount and at such times, as the Court may consider proper.
(b) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, where a spouse—
(i) is dead,
(ii) has deserted, or has been deserted by, the other spouse, or
(iii) is living separately and apart from the other spouse,
and there are dependent children of the family (not being children who are being fully maintained by either spouse), then, if it appears to the Court, on application to it by any person, that the surviving spouse or, as the case may be, either spouse has failed to provide such maintenance for any dependent children of the family as is proper in the circumstances, the Court may make an order (in this Act referred to as a maintenance order) that that spouse make to that person periodical payments, for the support of each of those dependent children, for such period during the lifetime of that person, of such amount and at such times, as the Court may consider proper.
(c) A maintenance order F15[under this section] or a variation order shall specify each part of a payment under the order that is for the support of a dependent child F15[of the family] and may specify the period during the lifetime of the person applying for the order for which so much of a payment under the order as is for the support of a dependent child F15[of the family] shall be made.
(2) The Court shall not make a maintenance order for the support of a spouse where the spouse has deserted and continues to desert the other spouse F16[unless, having regard to all the circumstances (including the conduct of the other spouse), the Court is of opinion that it would be repugnant to justice not to make a maintenance order].
(3) F17[…]
F18[(4) The Court, in deciding whether to make a maintenance order under this section and, if it decides to do so, in determining the amount of any payment, shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case and, in particular, to the following matters—
(a) the income, earning capacity (if any), property and other financial resources of—
(i) the spouses and any dependent children of the family, and
(ii) any other dependent children of which either spouse is a parent,
including income or benefits to which either spouse or any such children are entitled by or under statute F19[with the exception of a benefit or allowance or any increase in such benefit or allowance in respect of any dependent children granted to either parent of such children], and
(b) the financial and other responsibilities of—
(i) the spouses towards each other and towards any dependent children of the family, and
(ii) each spouse as a parent towards any other dependent children,
and the needs of any such children, including the need for care and attention.]
F20[(c) the conduct of each of the spouses, if that conduct is such that in the opinion of the Court it would in all the circumstances be repugnant to justice to disregard it.]
Annotations
Amendments:
F15
Inserted (14.06.1988) by Status of Children Act 1987 (26/1987), s. 17(a), commenced as per s. 1(2)(b).
F16
Inserted (19.10.1989) by Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 (6/1989), s. 38(2)(a), commenced as per s. 46(2).
F17
Deleted (19.10.1989) by Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 (6/1989), s. 38(2)(b), commenced as per s. 46(2).
F18
Substituted (14.06.1988) by Status of Children Act 1987 (26/1987), s. 17(b), commenced as per s. 1(2)(b).
F19
Inserted (29.11.1990) by Social Welfare Act 1989 (4/1989), s. 13(1)(b), S.I. No. 273 of 1990.
F20
Inserted (19.10.1989) by Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 (6/1989), s. 38(2)(c), commenced as per s. 46(2).
Modifications (not altering text):
C11
Application of section extended (18.06.2011) by European Communities (Maintenance) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 274 of 2011), reg. 10(2) and (6), in effect as per reg. 1(2).
Enforcement of enforceable maintenance orders given in a Member State not bound by the 2007 Hague Protocol
10. ...
(2) An enforceable maintenance order shall, from the date on which the maintenance order was made, be deemed for the purposes of—
(a) paragraph (1),
(b) section 98(1) (as amended by section 30(1) of the Act of 1976) of the Defence Act 1954 (No. 18 of 1954), and
(c) subject to the Maintenance Regulation, the variation or discharge of that order under section 6 (as amended by section 43(b) of the Act of 1995) of the Act of 1976,
to be an order made by the District Court under section 5, 5A (inserted by section 18 of the Act of 1987) or 21A (inserted by section 21 of the Act of 1987) of the Act of 1976, as may be appropriate.
...
(6) Subject to paragraphs (3) to (5) of Regulation 9, the following shall be regarded as being payable pursuant to an order made under section 5, 5A (inserted by section 18 of the Act of 1987), or 21A (inserted by section 21 of the Act of 1987) of the Act of 1976—
(a) any sum payable under an enforceable maintenance order but not paid before the relevant enforcement order was made;
(b) any costs of or incidental to the application for the enforcement order that are payable under Regulation 14(2).
...
C12
Application of section extended (1.03.2002) by European Communities (Civil and Commercial Judgment) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 52 of 2002), reg. 6(3) and (7), in effect as per reg. 2.
Enforcement of enforceable maintenance orders
6. ...
(3) An enforceable maintenance order shall, from the date on which the maintenance order was made, be deemed for the purposes of —
(a) paragraph (1),
(b) section 98(1) of the Defence Act 1954 ( No. 18 of 1954), and
(c) subject to the Brussels I Regulation, the variation or discharge of that order under section 6 (as amended by the Act of 1987) of the Act of 1976,
to be an order made by the District Court under section 5, 5A or 21A of the Act of 1976, as may be appropriate.
...
(7) Subject to paragraph (3) to (5) of Regulation 5, the following shall be regarded as being payable pursuant to an order made under section 5, 5A or 21A of the Act of 1976:
(a) any sum payable under an enforceable maintenance order but not paid before the relevant enforcement order was made;
(b) any costs of or incidental to the application for the enforcement order that are payable under Regulation 7(2).
...
C13
Application of section modified (27.02.1997) by Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (33/1996), s. 24, commenced as per s. 1(2).
Method of making payments under certain orders.
24.—(1) The court may by order provide that a payment under an order to which this section applies shall be made by such method as is specified in the order and be subject to such terms and conditions as it considers appropriate and so specifies.
(2) This section applies to an order under— ...
(b) section 5, 5A or 7 of the Act of 1976,
...
C14
Application of section modified (27.02.1997) by Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (33/1996), s. 25, commenced as per s. 1(2).
Stay on certain orders the subject of appeal.
25.—Where an appeal is brought from an order under— ...
(b) section 5, 5A or 7 of the Act of 1976,
...
the operation of the order shall not be stayed unless the court that made the order or to which the appeal is brought directs otherwise.
C15
Application of section extended (27.03.1996) by Domestic Violence Act 1996 (1/1996), s. 9, commenced as per s. 25(1).
Hearing of applications under various Acts together.
9.—(1) Where an application is made to the court for an order under this Act, the court may, on application to it in the same proceedings and without the institution of proceedings under the Act concerned, if it appears to the court to be proper to do so, make one or more of the orders referred to in subsection (2).
(2) The provisions to which subsection (1) relates are as follows, that is to say:
...
(b) an order under section 5, 5A, 6, 7 or 21A of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 (as amended by the Status of Children Act, 1987);
...
C16
Application of section extended (25.11.1995) by Maintenance Act 1994 (28/1994), s. 14(3), S.I. No. 288 of 1995; as amended (27.02.1997) by Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (33/1996), s. 53(c)(i), commenced as per s. 1(2).
Application for maintenance from designated jurisdiction.
14.—(1) On receipt of a request by the Central Authority from a central authority of a designated jurisdiction on behalf of a claimant for the recovery of maintenance from a person for the time being residing in the State (“the respondent”) the Central Authority may—
...
(c) if either the request is not accompanied by such an order or enforcement of the order is refused—
[(i) if the amount of the maintenance sought to be recovered exceeds the maximum amount which the District Court has jurisdiction to award under the Act of 1976 or the request is for a relief order (within the meaning of the Act of 1995) or a maintenance pending suit order, a periodical payments order, a secured periodical payments order or a lump sum order (within the meaning, in each case, of the Act of 1996), make an application to the Circuit Court,]
(ii) in any other case, make an application to the District Court,
for the recovery of maintenance in accordance with the request.
...
[(3) An application referred to in subsection (1) (c) shall be deemed to be an application for a maintenance order under section 5 or section 5A or 21A (inserted by the Status of Children Act, 1987) of the Act of 1976, or the appropriate order referred to in subsection (1) (c) (i), as may be appropriate, and to have been made on the date on which the request of the claimant for the recovery of maintenance was received by the Central Authority of the designated jurisdiction concerned.]
...
C17
Application of section extended (1.06.1988) by Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments (European Communities) Act 1988 (3/1988), s. 7(2)(a), S.I. No. 91 of 1988; as substituted (25.11.1995) by Maintenance Act 1994 (28/1994), s. 11, S.I. No. 288 of 1995.
Enforcement of Community maintenance orders.
[7. — ...
(2) (a) Subject to section 8 (4) of this Act and to the restriction on enforcement contained in Article 39, the District Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce an enforceable maintenance order and—
(i) for that purpose,
(ii) for the purposes of section 98 (1) of the Defence Act, 1954, and
(iii) subject to the 1968 Convention, for the purpose of the variation or discharge of such an order under section 6 of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976, as amended by the Status of Children Act, 1987,
such an order shall, from the date on which the maintenance order was made, be deemed to be an order made by the District Court under section 5 or section 5A or 21A (inserted by the Status of Children Act, 1987) of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976, as may be appropriate.
...]
Editorial Notes:
E12
Previous affecting provision: power of court to discharge order made under section provided (19.10.1989) by Judicial Separation and Family Law Act 1989 (6/1989), s. 39, commenced as per s. 46(2); repealed (1.08.1996) by Family Law Act 1995 (26/1995), s. 3(1) and sch., S.I. No. 46 of 1996, subject to transitional provisions in s. 3(2).