Parental Leave

67. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will consider increasing the duration of parent’s leave to support more working parents to stay at home with their children during the first year, given her Department has policy and legal responsibility for all family leaves. [65895/26]

There have been significant developments in entitlements for parents of working families in recent years. The combined durations of maternity, paternity and parent's leave and benefit now equate to 46 weeks of paid leave for a two-parent family, supplemented by an entitlement to 16 weeks of unpaid maternity leave and 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave per parent. Under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019, working parents are entitled to nine weeks of paid parent's leave, to be taken in the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child, as required by the EU work-life balance directive. The entitlement is for each parent in their own right. The leave is non-transferable to ensure that fathers are also supported in their caring roles and to promote women’s equal labour market participation. The principle of non-transferability is also required by the EU work-life balance directive. Under the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019, an employee who is a relevant parent in respect of a child under the age of 12 is entitled to 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave for each child. Where a child has a disability or long-term illness, the entitlement can continue until the child is 16 years of age. The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 complements existing family leave entitlements and introduces additional flexibility for working parents and carers. Under this legislation, parents and carers have a right to request flexible working arrangements in line with Article 9 of EU Directive 2019/1158. An entitlement to five days of leave annually for medical care purposes was also introduced under this Act. A key priority in First 5, the whole-of-government strategy for babies, young children and their families, is to support parents to look after their babies at home for the first year of their lives, given the benefits of parental care in that first year for children’s outcomes. Family leave provisions are kept under review to ensure they respond to the needs of families and are also mindful of the impact of the leaves on workplaces.

Paternity leave is a fairly recent policy, introduced in 2016. In 2020, the uptake was 48.6%; in 2023, that increased to 54%. Of those who avail of paternity leave, only 43% go on to parent's leave. Compare that with those who start on maternity benefit, of whom 75% go on to parent's leave. Ireland offers €299 per week. For working families, this represents a 72% drop; that is the figure we have been given, based on quarter 1 average incomes. Other EU countries offer much more to parents. I again ask whether the Government is considering extending parent's leave. When will parents in this country see such an extension?

Programme for Government - Securing Ireland's Future commits to examining the extension of parent's leave and benefit and additional flexibilities. The first action plan under the new national strategy for women and girls, published in August, includes measures to support working families in balancing work and family responsibilities, including extending parent's leave. The Department is taking forward work to implement that measure and to look at and examine it. The programme for Government also commits to introducing pay-related parent's benefit and exploring other payments where a similar model could be applied. A pay-related model was introduced on 31 March 2025 for jobseeker’s benefit. The Department of Social Protection will draw on the learnings from that scheme to inform the development of options for parent's benefit and other family leave schemes. There is a programme for Government commitment to examining the extension of parent's leave and benefit and additional flexibilities. Work on that is under way. Work is ongoing in the Department of Social Protection on pay-related parent's benefit.

Will the Minister fill us in on the work under way in the Department? This is a huge issue, as she and everyone in this House knows, for many parents. Nine weeks' parent's leave is simply not good enough for those who have to look after a newborn, particularly in cases where a C-section was involved, which parents have contacted me about. Given the amount of work and care needed to ensure the health of the mother and child, nine weeks does not help the situation. What stage is the work in the Department at? Will the Minister look to a public consultation on this? I am sure she will get plenty of feedback from parents because that is what we have received in our office in the weeks and months since we started raising this issue. Will the Minister confirm her and the Government's thinking on increasing paternity leave to replicate other EU countries, which offer a far better scheme than is available in Ireland?

While I appreciate what the Deputy has said about the nine weeks, it is important to reiterate that up to 46 weeks of paid leave is available to two-parent families. The programme for Government contains a commitment to examining the extension of parent's leave and benefit and other flexibilities, as does the national strategy for women and girls. My Department is in the very early stages of looking at that. There will be engagement and consultation on that. The pay-related model is also important. That is to be undertaken by the Department of Social Protection. Between the programme for Government commitment and the national strategy, there is a commitment for this to be looked at.