David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to comment on the section's amendments. Section 2(a) of the Bill amends the Parental Leave Act 1998 to extend family leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks. It could be argued that this is a rapid increase, a case of too much too soon, and could have an adverse effect on some businesses, especially small businesses and employers, if it was implemented in one fell swoop. The Government may propose amendments aimed at facilitating employers and businesses to adapt more easily to the provisions. I may bring forward amendments to this effect on Report Stage. This approach would allow employers sufficient time to implement any necessary measures to reduce the impact on their businesses, and to make sure that they have the necessary structures in place to facilitate the taking of leave.

Second, as the committee is aware, negotiations on a draft work-life balance directive are currently under way at EU level. The Government wishes to highlight the need to ensure that whatever changes are made to domestic legislation will dovetail with the provisions and timeframe for transposing the directive.

Section 2(b) of the Bill amends section 6(8) of the Act to ensure that a relevant parent should be allowed to benefit from the extended parental leave if they have already used their current allowance of 18 weeks. Parents who have not used their entire entitlement will be allowed to claim the balance of their unused parental leave and the further eight weeks introduced in the Bill. The Government supports this approach as all eligible parents should be eligible to claim their full entitlement to parental leave when extended. However, the Government may bring the amendment forward on Report Stage to modify the wording in this regard. The substance will remain as it is.

Section 2(c) of the Bill is a straightforward amendment to section 6(9) of the Parental Leave Act 1998, updating the reference to the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2006 with a reference to the Bill.