i have been at several "maintenance" hearings. In the first, I (foolishly) offered a sum that was accepted by the judge
At the second, I explained that Both of us were on Welfare at the time, and that although only haf of the money I gave her was taken off her welfare payment, the entire sum was deducted from her rent allowance ... this actually mean that for every €10 I gave her, she was WORSE OFF by €5 ...
This was confirmed by herself ...
The judge agreed that this was silly, and made an order for €0 per week.
the judge is there to look after the Kids, and to look after the individual(s) that otherwise have no source of income ... any effort to reduce the Social Welfare payments made to any party is a distant third place (but since it is based on the decision of a single judge, always be aware that you could get a judge that is having a bad day, or has a particular axe to gind).