Minister Launches Campaign To 'Stop Robbing Children'

Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie, MLA has launched a new campaign to win the hearts and minds and get money for children from Non-Resident Parents.

The advertising campaign targets non-resident parents who will not pay child maintenance, in a bid to ensure that money will flow more quickly to children.

Margaret Ritchie said: "More than 12,000 children in Northern Ireland are not getting the correct level of child maintenance. They are often suffering unnecessary poverty. That simply is not fair."

The campaign is built upon a strap-line: 'Are you robbing your child?'. The Minister stressed the importance of parental responsibility and how the failure of some parents to provide adequate support for their children hurts. She said: "This campaign is about changing attitudes. It is about sending out the simple message that, even though times are tough for many parents, not supporting your children is wrong.

"I am giving a very clear message to those parents who are not accepting their financial responsibilities for their children that there is no hiding place. We will use all the powers at our disposal to track down those who are determined to avoid or evade paying for their child."

The Minister said that the powers that the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division have at their disposal allow effective measures to be used against people who deny their children the support that is due to them.

Margaret Ritchie added: "My Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division has replaced the former N.I. Child Support Agency and has been streamlining operations in a more focused way to recover child maintenance payments."

(JM/KMcA)