Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for arranging the time to consider Committee Stage of this Bill. I will keep my comments short. The purpose of this Bill is to extend the existing entitlement to unpaid leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks. We, in this country, are in a situation where our parental leave entitlements are among the lowest in Europe. In total, there is an entitlement to about 60 weeks. The average in Europe is almost 100 weeks. This is not any kind of substitute for paid parental leave. Obviously the Social Democrats and all of us want to see entitlement to paid parental leave being extended as soon as possible. That, in the main, relates to the very early years in a child's life and I strongly support the proposal that all families should be facilitated in looking after their children for at least the first year of life at home, through paid parental leave.

Unpaid parental leave is a different matter. It can be used in those early years but it principally gives flexibility to parents to balance their work obligations and their parental obligations. It provides that kind of flexibility where they may go on a four-day week for a period, take time off during summer holidays from schools and that kind of thing. It is an extremely popular measure. In the main, it does not cost an awful lot. There are some small recruitment costs for replacement staff but it does not cost a significant amount of money and, from the parents' point of view, it is a very popular move because it provides the flexibility that parents need to balance their work, life and family responsibilities. It can be seen as a measure which supports women to remain in the workforce because it provides an element of flexibility.

Since this Bill moved through Second Stage, I have had a huge amount of correspondence from parents who strongly welcome it and keep asking, on a regular basis, when the law is going to change because it is such a popular option for people. We also know that, in many cases, it can make sense from a financial point of view for a parent to take a certain amount of time out of the workforce. When one considers the cost of participating in work and the extraordinarily high cost of childcare, sometimes it simply does not pay, financially. The key thing that many women want to ensure is that they retain statutory rights relating to employment and that they can take leave at particular times, have that flexibility, and still maintain all of their employment and statutory rights. I will leave it at that, with regard to the purpose of the Bill. It is a family-friendly measure which is about facilitating work-life balance and it is also about retaining women in the workforce. That is the motivation behind it and I look forward to the support of all members here.