John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion and I commend the Green Party and the Social Democrats for bringing it forward, particularly Deputy Catherine Martin, who spoke very passionately and emotionally when speaking on the motion this evening. Since the motion was first published I, like many Deputies in the Chamber, received many e-mails from right across the State from parents who have faced the potential devastation of losing a loved one. One e-mail described a situation where a mother had to spend her entire maternity leave in hospital with her premature baby and is then forced to take unpaid leave or leave her job due to work places refusing additional leave. Financial burdens should never be placed on mothers or fathers, especially in cases where a baby is born prematurely. When it comes to the level of pay mandated by law, Ireland ranks at the very bottom of the European league, along with Slovakia. The amount paid to mothers over a relatively long period of leave falls well below 66% of normal earnings. Year on year, in our alternative budget, we include provision for an increase in maternity benefit and an extension of maternity leave. In our alternative budget for 2017, we provided for an increase of €40 in maternity benefit and an extension of two weeks to maternity leave. This should be looked at in every Government budget. This motion provides the Government with an opportunity to take a positive step and a much more compassionate approach to improve maternity practices in Ireland. I welcome the fact the Government is not going to oppose this motion. Hopefully, it can be moved forward to the next step.

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