Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

They were flush with promises at the time and it was in their hearts to deliver everything in sight to the electorate before, during and after elections. The interval between 1998 and now marks a serious gap in the memory of the then newly elected Government in 1998 and its successor in 2002. Eventually, in 2005, it has been called ashore. Something must have happened in Inchydoney, the Slieve Russell or Killarney to convince the Government to do something about this Bill.

The Bill also arises from commitments entered into in the Sustaining Progress — Social Partnership Agreement 2003-2005, two years ago. That includes a commitment by the Government to strengthen parental leave, with the agreed recommendations of the social partners. The June 2004 mid-term review of Sustaining Progress committed the Government to enacting this legislation before summer 2005.

While there has been a seasonal change due to global warming and other factors, I am not sure the summer has shifted to the extent that it covers the introduction of this legislation to the House before winter 2005. There has been some slippage in the exuberance with which Government delivers on its promises. However, it surely has not slipped to the extent that the seasons have changed.

I welcome the Bill, which is necessary because of changes in work practices and society. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, from my former constituency of Kildare, now serving Kildare South, is upset at this long delay. The legislation is being dragged into the House, having failed to come in before the summer, and is squeezed in at the eleventh hour before winter descends. It is a commitment of sorts, better late than never.

Society has changed dramatically in recent years and will change even more. The Bill will hopefully recognise and strengthen the position of parents' entitlements to time with their children, and vice versa. By the time parents have arranged for crèches, pre-schools and playschools, sat in traffic jams for two to four hours a day and paid their mortgage and childminding fees, they will have little time out. It is necessary to introduce legislation of this nature to regulate to some extent and provide the level of parental leave that must statutorily be made available.

The proposal to raise the maximum age of the eligible child from five to eight years is progressive and useful. The Bill does not go far enough, however, in increasing the maximum age of a child with a disability to 16 years. There is an even greater need to extend parental leave to care for a child with special needs or a disability. In such situations the parent may save the State a considerable sum by devoting more time to his or her child. Many parents have heretofore devoted their lives to children with disabilities and saved the State the equivalent cost of caring for the child.

The Minister of State might reconsider that section, with a view to introducing amendments to improve that area. One's heart goes out to a parent who cares for a child with special needs. There are many such parents, some of whom receive carer's allowance and many who, for various reasons, do not qualify for the allowance. If more improvements can be made in the degree to which parental leave can be made statutorily available to them it should be done in this Bill. It is unlikely this Bill will be revisited before the next election, particularly given the delay in bringing it forward this time.

The provision to take the statutory entitlement of 14 weeks' parental leave in separate blocks, of a minimum six continuous weeks, is progressive and necessary. The logistics are understandable and welcome, given the parent's need to make arrangements to take that leave. The provision whereby a parent who falls ill and cannot therefore care for the child during the parental leave period, may postpone or suspend the leave for the duration of the illness is also progressive and important. It recognises that a bureaucratic obstruction existed in the past such that parental leave was no great concession to the parent who fell ill during that period. This legislation proposes to address that issue and hopefully will do so in full.

I hope the strengthened provision to protect the right to return to work is strictly enforced with no deviation countenanced in any circumstances. If the employee is entitled to parental leave, in respect of a child with or without special needs, the right to return to work must remain constant. It is necessary to ensure provision for this when there is a need to expand the workforce and a demand for more employees.

The provision to protect employees who exercise the right to parental leave from penalisation is connected to the previous point. It goes without saying that once legislation is passed providing for a parent to take leave, no circumstances should be tolerated in which that person is penalised, whether in respect simply of the right to return to work, or to return to the work he or she did before taking the leave — a separate issue — or in any other way that affects his or her rights in the workplace. They are entitled to their rights in the same way as if they had never taken parental leave. No penalty should accrue or arise from the right of the person to take parental leave as provided for in the legislation, in whatever manner a person wants to take such leave.

I am concerned for the large numbers of parents who are non-nationals now working in this country. Other speakers have also raised the issue. The legislation will provide for all persons in the workforce but from some of the things we have seen and heard, and some of the experiences we have had, it is not entirely clear that everyone respects the rights of non-nationals with regard to their entitlements while in and out of the workforce.

That also applies to Departments. Apropos the previous Bill which passed through the House, Departments need to look at themselves in the way they dictate policy as it affects non-nationals. It is much more difficult for non-nationals in the parental leave area. If at any time there is a scarcity of employees in the workforce, the pressure is on to get as many people as possible in to work. That is understood. However, whatever else prevails, there must be no situation whereby a national or non-national is in any way discriminated against as a result of his or her entitlement to parental leave in this context. The situation whereby a person's entitlement to parental leave does not arise has arisen in the past and will no doubt arise again.

Special attention needs to be paid to the particular situation as it affects non-nationals who are parents and have their families with them in Ireland. How are those non-national families affected who do not have all their children of relevant age with them in Ireland, the age group already referred to? I wonder if provision is being made in the legislation for such a situation. Such families come from all parts of the world. The emigration services report which I listened to this morning envisaged that in future we will receive more applications for work permits from those who wish to live and work in Ireland because of a number of factors, including our growing economy.

The Government will attempt to take all the credit for the growth but I like to point out that we still have a long way to grow, and a lot of growing to do. We ceased to grow for a long time. Before the Government parties claim that the end of growth was the responsibility and fault of others, I point out that during almost 18 of the past 20 years, government of this State was in the hands of the parties opposite me, or some variation of them. There have been a number of variations. We will not go down that road because if needs be we can apply the odium equally when it comes to the degree to which we can claim credit for the current growth in the economy. We are grateful for that growth, but there is much more growing to be done and much more effort to be made.

We should keep in mind the benefit to the economy of non-nationals coming to Ireland to work. We must give them the same rights and entitlements which the rest of our workforce has, none more so than with regard to this legislation. It comes late, like most things from the Government side, as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle knows from experience, but better late than never. The legislation has fairly sweeping provisions of a beneficial nature, though improvements can be made in some areas. Despite the emphasis on the seasonal changes, only one season has slipped by with regard to the Government failure to deliver before summer 2005. Maybe the climate changes covers that too.

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