Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. While I welcome some areas of the Bill, some areas cause concern. Over the years the Government has been reluctant to consider extending parental leave. In its rush to put financial capital before social capital the area of parental leave and parental issues has been neglected in the past eight years. During campaigning for the by-elections earlier this year and the local elections last year members of the Government parties and others discovered that child care represents a major issue. Following the uproar caused by the introduction of tax individualisation, the Government rushed to patch up some of the damage it caused by discriminating against families and homemakers, and creating additional tax credits for home carers. The real problem for homemakers lies in housing policies. The legacy of bad planning and no planning has created a jungle of dispiriting suburbs. Similarly housing inflation has not been tackled condemning many couples to a form of bonded slavery to the banks for decades to come, which further impacts on family life.

If the gender equality unit of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform conducted research into the manner in which parental leave has been availed of up to now, taking into account those who are aware of the leave but have not availed of it and those who have done so but feel it could be improved, the Government would gain more insight into real life than just taking the views at the doorsteps every few years. Quality of life issues do not come within the ambit of the Government's mindset except as something that might be bought at a convenience store.

The same sad legacy is all too apparent in the case of parental leave. The Government made a commitment in Sustaining Progress to strengthen parental leave in line with the recommendations of the social partners, which was supposed to have been delivered before the end of the last Dáil session. It has now scrambled to pull together some if its caring clothes before the next general election. When the Minister for Finance unveils his budget I am sure parental leave and child care will be very much on his mind. The Government has finally given some acknowledgement that parents exist and are not just cogs in the machine of the economy, and that having more time to spend with their children might be good for society as a whole.

However, there is a sting in the tail of the Bill. Other speakers have spoken about the missed opportunity to introduce paid leave, a glaring omission that takes all the good out of the Bill, which contains some good provisions. The usual pandering to money can be recognised in the unpaid leave provision. If one can buy one's own free time, one is welcome to it. If one can afford to suspend one's income flow and rely on savings, one is welcome to take time off. Otherwise, one must forget about quality time with one's children, clock in and put up with it. The rush to a Boston model of economic development will pay dividends in due course. However, this kind of dividend is wrong. It will wreck social partnership, create resentment among the lower paid and foster support for radical parties. We are well on the road to an unequal society and despite the Government's efforts, it has failed to convince anybody that it has discovered its caring side. How could it be caring when it is not in touch and cannot remember what it is like to have a social conscience?

Let us look at some European examples of child care and parental leave. Austria has paid parental leave for up to two years. The Netherlands and Belgium provide for additional payments while employees are on leave. Italy, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden and the United Kingdom all provide for some type of subsidy to parents on leave.

Over the weekend, Fianna Fáil had its annual Ard-Fheis in Killarney. On Friday, the Taoiseach said his party intends to commemorate 1916 with a military parade but I remind the Minister of State what the Proclamation of Independence says about children. It states the Irish Republic will cherish "all the children of the nation equally". Does this Bill cherish all the children of our nation equally? It does not. How could it when it does not treat all the parents of the nation equally? It creates division among parents by discriminating against those of limited means and those who are financially stretched because of the Government's incompetent housing policies. For such people, the notion of availing of unpaid leave is totally unimaginable because they must pay so much for their house, in terms of their mortgages, as well as other expenses.

My party will propose amendments to this Bill on Committee Stage, particularly with regard to parental leave benefit, which would be the equivalent of maternity leave benefit. We will propose a social welfare credit equivalent, since income levels must be taken into account if parental leave is not to be for the rich only. Our amendments will propose to extend benefits from 18 to 26 weeks, which is very important. We will propose the introduction of 18 weeks paid parental leave for parents of children under the age of five, to be paid at the same rate as maternity benefit. We will also seek to establish part-time parental benefit for parents of children up to the age of 11 and to introduce a means-tested parental allowance payment for parents of children under the age of five and under the age of 11. We should work towards the goal of providing one year's leave for either parent, to allow him or her to stay at home to mind children. Although this may take time to implement, it is something we should examine seriously. We are all aware that many school children go home in the evening to find no parent there for them. That is a major problem which can cause many other problems for our society.

I urge the Minister of State to consider the amendments my party will be tabling on Committee Stage. They are child and family friendly and will provide a lesson for this Government in implementing meaningful child care policies that will address the pressures on families.

There are some positive aspects to the Bill. I welcome the provisions related to sick time, discrimination, dismissal and promotional opportunities. In addition, giving parents the right to take leave in separate blocks will encourage more of them to avail of leave, while the raising of the maximum age of the child for whom the leave applies from five to eight years is also welcome.

The issue of parental leave is very closely related to the issue of child care and has been treated in a similar fashion by the Government. If this Bill is enacted in its current form, there will be a rush to amend it when the message comes through at the doorsteps that voters do not like its contents. Just as child care has been ignored over the lifetime of this Government, so too has parental leave. People at the doorsteps will look at this with disdain when the Bill is enacted.

Some aspects of the Bill attempt to bring equality to the issue, but overall it is not family friendly. Society is crying out for family friendly policies that will put Ireland on a par with its EU neighbours. In its current form, the most glaring inadequacy in the Bill is the failure to provide for paid leave. In that regard, I would not like to be knocking on doors during the next general election campaign.

We should consider the matter of paid leave. We should try to reward our children, support stable, caring homes and foster the next generation of responsible, law abiding citizens.

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