Fine Gael last night distanced itself from a proposal from party MEP and Senator, Jim Higgins, that monthly child welfare payments be withheld as a last resort from parents whose children are subjected to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos).
A spokesman for the party said while Fine Gael was in favour of more parental responsibility for their children's behaviour, the proposal from Mr Higgins was a personal one and was not party policy.
Mr Higgins said in several radio interviews that withholding child benefit should be considered as an "ultimate sanction", and denied that his proposal was "draconian".
"Now that child benefit is a substantial €160 per child per month, I'm absolutely of the opinion that this is not a draconian proposal.
"The purpose of child benefit, the reason the Government targets child benefit and families of a certain age, is to maintain the upkeep and the welfare of the children and offspring of this world in the first place," he told broadcaster Seán O'Rourke on the News at One programme on RTÉ Radio One.
Mr Higgins told The Irish Times afterwards that he planned to raise the issue in the Seanad at the earliest opportunity and said he had written to Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, last Tuesday outlining his proposal.
Asbos for adults were introduced on January 1st and Asbos for children are to be law from March 1st.
Mr Higgins said he wanted an opportunity to speak about this issue in the Seanad before it became law.
He said responsibility for child behaviour rests fairly and squarely on the shoulders of parents - "the parents who brought them into the world in the first place".
Mr Higgins told RTÉ he had made the announcement on several local radio stations and had received 99 per cent support for it.
He said one caller to Limerick FM said the week the child benefit becomes available to parents is known as karaoke week.
"It's not being spent on the children and while the parents are enjoying karaoke the children are running around the streets," he said.
He said members of the public who rang into programmes had no objections to child benefit being paid, but objected to the manner to which child benefit was being spent.
Asked afterwards if he had personal knowledge of parents enjoying karaoke nights on the back of child welfare payments, Mr Higgins stressed that he had not but that it was a caller to the radio programme who had said this.
Mr Higgins said his proposal is that child welfare payments withheld from parents whose children has been subjected to Asbos be re-introduced on a phased basis when behaviour improved.
RTÉ interview: what they said
Jim Higgins:"I believe it is wrong, wrong, absolutely wrong that 10, 11, 12, and 13-year-olds should be allowed roam the streets at 11 and 12 o'clock at night totally unsupervised in gangs making life a misery for the settled community . . . Basically what I'm saying is there should be an ultimate sanction here, okay, a street order is a black book, a good behaviour order is yellow card and a good behaviour contract is a red card but now that child benefit is a substantial €160 per child per month, I'm absolutely of the opinion that this is not a draconian proposal because the purpose of child benefit, the reason the Government targets child benefit and families of a certain age, is to maintain the upkeep and the welfare of the children and offspring of this world in the first place."
Seán O'Rourke:"If your proposals were accepted children arguably would go hungry. There might be several children in a family and if money is reduced, well, the people will go without?
Jim Higgins:"Seán, I have since I made this announcement and in the last 48 hours have been on Ocean FM, NWR, Shannon/Northern Sound, Limerick FM, Waterford FM and Clare FM on chat programmes and there has been 99 per cent support for it. For example, when I was on Limerick FM somebody rang in to the programme and said that every week the child benefit becomes available to parents it's what's known as karaoke week. It's not being spent on the children and while the parents are enjoying karaoke the children are running around the streets."
Seán O'Rourke:"Do you really believe that Jim Higgins? That's the kind of reaction of a certain type of boorish individual who believes that everybody should pay their own way and the State should do nothing for anybody."
Jim Higgins:"Everybody that rang into the programme had no objections to child benefit being paid, but what they had objection to is the manner to which child benefit was being spent. I believe part and parcel of the Asbos scheme should be the development of parenting courses. FG said this in the past."