Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Bill which fundamentally is about choice. There is absolutely nothing in it that is mandatory. There is nothing in it that will force either parent to do anything that they would not choose to do themselves. The arguments I heard the Minister make were disingenuous and she should have had the courtesy to at least wait to listen to the debate, given the fact that the Bill comes within her remit. I acknowledge that the Minister of State has responsibility in the Department too; therefore, he will have an opportunity to bring the concerns raised back to the Department.

The Bill is about allowing the mothers of newborn children to share their maternity benefit entitlements with the child's other parent, if they wish to do so. It is important that we move towards broadening parental choice, promoting gender equality and supporting a healthy work/life balance. The Bill allows parents to share between them the 26-week period of paid maternity leave but subject to the approval of the mother who cannot be discommoded in any way. If she does not wish to make that choice, she does not have to. The Bill is about supporting her right to choose how maternity leave is to be taken. The Minister was wrong. She used phrases such as "preventing the mammy from bonding with the child." She was almost trying to insinuate that we were nearly forcing a mother who wanted to stay at home with her child not to do so. That is factually incorrect. In Ireland mothers have a statutory entitlement to 26 weeks of maternity leave paid for by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Mothers have a statutory entitlement to take a further 16 weeks leave without pay. Fathers are entitled to just two weeks of paid paternity leave and can only take some of the mother's entitlements if she dies. That is not right. The Bill will broaden entitlement and choice. The Minister gave kudos to the Government for its recent announcement in budget 2019 in which it committed to introducing an additional two weeks of paid maternity leave for mothers and fathers on a use it or lose it basis. What she failed to say was that it really should not have been an announcement in budget 2019 but in budget 2020 because it will not take effect until December 2019. We have moved to a new stage in this Administration where the Government is announcing budgetary measures 12 months in advance.

What are the benefits in introducing shared paternity benefit? It gives an opportunity in a situation where perhaps the mother is the main breadwinner, self-employed or a Member of Dáil Éireann, for whom currently there is no maternity benefit available. If a colleague of ours in the House gives birth during the Dáil term, there is nearly pressure on her to return to work within a short timeframe as a result of the fear that she will lose out because she is not operating and fully representing her constituents. Perhaps there are instances in which it would be more beneficial for the father or the second parent to avail of the benefit. It would be the choice of the mother in conjunction with the second parent. It would also offer the father greater involvement in the child's life. A recent study conducted by the Overseas Development Institute found that Ireland was the most unequal of the 32 countries studied by it. Just 7% of men provide childcare, which is lower than the figure in Iraq, which is quite amazing. By allowing parents to share leave facilities, the Bill offers greater gender equality by allowing both parents to play an instrumental role in the early months of a child's life.

In this debate we frequently look to other jurisdictions and ask what is happening there, if it is working well and what is international best practice. During my time as my party's spokesperson on children, the countries always referred to in the provision of childcare and in terms of child welfare and getting it right from early age were the Scandinavian countries. Lo and behold, Sweden was the first country to introduce shared maternity leave in 1974, long before I was born. There is international evidence that demonstrates that this is happening and good. It offers a greater opportunity for both parents to provide caring facilities at an early stage in a child's life. It means that if the mother needs to go back to work for whatever reason, the family will not lose their statutory maternity benefit entitlements. Ultimately, the bottom line is that it is about choice. It would not be mandatory. It is not forcing people to do what they do not want to do. I ask the Minister of State to use his position within the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and at the Cabinet table to try to encourage his line Minister to review the decision not to support the legislation which will not be voted on until next Thursday. It would at least allow it to move to the next Stage and if there are amendments to be made, they could be debated and made. I am sure, like any legislation, it can be improved.

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