Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Bill does not really relate to pregnancy loss. I was thinking of children who were born up to the age of 18. I know there is legislation to cover maternity leave in the event of pregnancy loss. Senator Clonan's baby was different. His baby died during birth, which is horrendous. If there was any help I could give, I would be very interested in that. My understanding is that someone is paid while on this leave. None of a person's employment rights will be affected by the leave.

In Ireland we are very respectful of death, in fairness to employers. I know this kind of leave is provided for workers in the public service and Civil Service. Many big companies also give two weeks' parental bereavement leave to their employees. I want to be able to accommodate women who might work on the till in Tesco or the person at the end of a phone in customer services who is dealing with somebody who does not know about their circumstances. Three days is not enough for that parent. Therefore, they would be paid for two weeks. A company in Ireland, especially a small company, will often close down for a day or two out of respect when somebody has suffered a bereavement. I do not see it being an issue. There is a provision in section 1 of the National Minimum Wage Act covering an employer who is financially stressed by that, but I do not expect that to be a big issue.

Thankfully, it is rare for our children to die. It is not a common bereavement for parents to go through, thank God, because there could not be anything worse. The parent who is bereaved should not have to worry about paying the mortgage and other bills. They should be entitled to paid leave and it should not be a favour or anything like that.