Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this important issue and I thank Deputy Catherine Martin, who spoke powerfully and emotionally on the motion. I am delighted to support the motion, which is to extend maternity leave and maternity benefit for mothers of babies born prematurely. We were informed this morning in a wonderful presentation by Dr. Claudine Vavasseur, and the parents of premature babies who spoke about their experience, that these children can have significant health challenges. Existing leave entitlements make no allowance for the additional time that is needed for parents when a pregnancy does not go to full term. Every year in Ireland approximately 4,500 babies are born prematurely, which means one in 16 women delivers a preterm baby. At the time of the baby's arrival, the parents' concerns, worries and anxieties are quite naturally focused on the baby’s safety, well-being and progress. Maternity leave comes into effect on the date the baby is born, but babies surviving from the earliest gestations, such as 23 weeks, can spend months in a neonatal unit in hospital, including in intensive care units, and most babies who are discharged from a unit on supportive medical equipment require full-time care in the home and will need to attend regular clinics, as my colleagues have pointed out.

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Premature babies are more at risk of disease and infection than full-term babies and current legislation and policy does not take into account the huge unforeseen pressures and turmoil families face when caring for a premature baby.

Allowances are available in legislation for a mother to defer her maternity leave while a baby is hospitalised. However, these allowances do not adequately provide for the needs of premature babies. This inadequacy is particularly apparent in incidents where mothers are ill, or have undergone a caesarean section. Fianna Fáil proposed the extension of paid parental leave from 26 to 30 weeks, so that parents, if they choose, can spend longer with their newborn without worrying about its effect on their career prospects or their ability to earn a living. There is a significant gap between the termination of paid maternity leave and the commencement of free pre-school when a child is, at the earliest, three years and two months old. The progression of this policy would have a complementary effect on areas such as parental choice, work-life balance and child well-being. The extension of maternity leave would minimise the need and cost of child care in the child’s first year and allow young children to spend the crucial first year benefiting from parental leave.

I thank Deputy Catherine Martin and the parents who spoke this morning. It was very informative and moving.

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