Ms Carol Baxter:

I thank the committee for inviting the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to its pre-Committee Stage scrutiny of the Parental Bereavement Leave (Amendment) Bill 2021, sponsored by Deputies Cronin and O’Reilly. I would like firstly to offer our sincere condolences to parents whose children have died and to acknowledge the tragedy that this represents for many families.

As Deputy Cronin indicated and the committee is aware, the Private Members' Bill proposes to amend the Parental Leave Act 1998 and make provision for a statutory minimum of ten days bereavement leave for parents of a child within 42 days of the death of that child, defined as being under 18. The Bill proposes to establish parental bereavement leave as separate from other leave. There is no general statutory entitlement in Ireland for workers to bereavement leave. The introduction of a new statutory leave requires careful consideration in terms of the subsequent impact on employment structures, costs and indeed on any potential equality issues which may arise where a form of leave would apply to only one cohort of employee. It is noted that the proposed bereavement leave would not extend to other family members, even though they might also experience serious loss as a result of the death of a young family member. Similarly, the proposed leave would not encompass the bereavement arising from the loss of spouses, partners, parents or siblings.

Our Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which holds policy responsibility for workplace-related leave, are currently considering the Bill’s implications for families and employers. While the Bill is silent on the topic of a payment for the leave proposed, there are potential costs for smaller organisations in particular, even in the context of unpaid leave. There are particular issues in the Bill which warrant further consideration. The Bill encompasses persons defined as "relevant parents" under the Parental Leave Act 1998 as amended. This definition is very broad as it includes parents and adoptive parents, but also persons acting in loco parentis. It may be more appropriate to include a tighter definition of parent in the Bill. Similarly, the Bill encompasses situations in which the child is stillborn. As parents who experience the loss of a stillborn child would be entitled to their full maternity and paternity leave, consideration would need to be given to how these leaves would interact.

I ask the committee, when considering the Bill, to note the significant developments in the entitlements available to working parents and families in recent years. The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 introduced five days leave for medical care purposes for parents and carers, alongside domestic violence leave and a right to request flexible working for parents and carers. Each parent of a child under the age of two can also avail of seven weeks paid parents’ leave. This leave will be increased to nine weeks from 1 August this year. Parental leave was extended in 2019 to 26 weeks for a child under 12, or a child under 16 where the child has a disability or long-term illness, while two weeks of paternity leave was introduced for the second parent in 2016. Family leaves are kept under review to ensure that they are effective and respond to the needs of families. These developments have taken place alongside a broader expansion of entitlements for all workers, including the introduction of statutory sick leave and of stronger rights in regard to flexible and remote working.

Officials are examining how bereaved parents can be better supported. Research has been completed on the workplace impact of pregnancy loss by the pregnancy loss research group in UCC. The research focuses on those who experience pregnancy loss prior to 24 weeks’ gestation. Some of the findings may be useful in informing a broader consideration of how best to support bereaved families more broadly.

I wish once again to extend my appreciation to the committee for the invitation to appear and I look forward to the committee’s discussion.