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

I will respond to some of the points made by the Minister of State. I agree that pre-legislative scrutiny is a good thing and a good practice that we have developed but that is where one is talking about a new measure. This is not a new measure. It is an existing measure that has been there for some time and is merely an extension of that. I repeat that it is an eight-week extension that can be spread over several years up to 12 years. It is not a major change and will not be a sudden change all in one go. I do not believe there is any need for pre-legislative scrutiny of it.

The Minister of State also made a point about paid versus unpaid leave. I said at the outset that I absolutely support the commitment the Minister of State has given to introduce paid parental leave so that children can be cared for in their home by a parent in the first year. That needs to happen as quickly as possible and I think we would all be supportive of that. However, this is a different measure. This is not talking specifically about the early years. It is talking about flexibility that is available to parents over the child's lifetime for those first 12 years. It is an entirely different matter and measure and serves quite a different purpose. This is not an "either-or" situation; it is in addition to something that already exists. I think we would absolutely support the Minister of State if he brought forward proposals for 12 months paid leave. This cannot happen too soon.

This needs to be viewed in the context of Ireland being among the worst in Europe when it comes to parental leave entitlements. We have a huge amount of catching up to do. Much of our legislation in this area has been dictated to us by Europe, which has had a positive influence, but we have not brought forward legislation ourselves. We have tended to drag our heels in respect of parental entitlements. Too often, the views of employers have outweighed the needs and views of parents in this regard. It is time that we got on with it. This is a small improvement in one of the aspects of parental leave and flexible work options and the sooner it happens, the better. I think most parents would feel that.