Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. As she knows, the rates for paternity, maternity and parental benefits are the same for women and men. The maximum is around €250, which I believe is what she said. I am a supporter of pay-related benefits. We used to have them in Ireland but do not anymore. They are actually recommended by the Commission on Taxation and Welfare, which has some very positive recommendations as well as some that I do not agree with. I would like us to move to that. That would better reflect the amount of money you are paying, so the more money you pay into the PRSI fund across your working life, the more benefits you get. This was partly the case with the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. When we moved to the second phase of it, those who paid in more got more and those who earned more got more. Therefore, you get a replacement rate figure of 66% or 50%, or something like that, up to a cap. Some people do not like that and believe it perpetuates socio-economic inequality. I believe it is actually fairness because those who contribute more benefit more. Obviously, there will be different views on that.

With regard to international conventions, some countries sign a convention and then forget about it or implement it over ten or 20 years. We try to do it the other way around. It was the same with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Before we sign such a convention, we like to be ready to ratify and implement it in a meaningful way. We have been doing the analysis and believe we can achieve this by the end of the year, hopefully by mid-December. I would like to have it done before I depart this office. That is the objective.

I am not entirely sure of the position on the White Ribbon campaign. Ms O'Dea or Ms Quilty might comment on it.