Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to start by commending the #ExtendMaternityLeave2020 campaign group for all its hard work in what has been a difficult time for new parents.

Mothers who have had their babies in recent months have had a particularly strange and difficult experience of maternity leave. After the birth of their children, many could not enjoy support from extended family members or from public health nurses and others who are so important for new parents, especially first-time mothers. They could not enjoy these important first few months with their babies in view of the restrictions of lockdown.

This has been such a stressful time for so many mothers and the very least they deserve is an extension of three months in their maternity leave to give them the space to catch up on experiences and medical appointments, check-ups and all the other activities they have missed out on. These parents are now facing going back to work in a completely changed environment and many are unable to secure childcare places for their children. Many crèches are simply not accepting newborns and this is leaving parents in the lurch. In my constituency, a mother has been advised by her employer that she must hand in her notice if she is not ready to come back to work. She is parenting alone and cannot secure childcare. Her employer has now given her the option of looking after her children or losing her job.

This Covid crisis has laid bare the absolute shambles that is childcare provision in this State. The fees are absolutely outrageous and the waiting lists are lengthy. This has left the parents of small children struggling with a enormous financial burden. At the weekend, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy O'Gorman, stated that he hoped that crèche fees will be capped in order to ensure that parents will not have to pay more than their monthly mortgage payment for childcare fees. Is that the extent of the ambition of this new Government? Is this the radical change that people voted for in February? Those comments were disgraceful and they show a total lack of understanding of the childcare issues that parents face.

Mothers who have given birth during the Covid crisis are not trying to pull a fast one. They have gone through an awfully bloody time and all they are asking for is an extension of three months to their maternity leave. Given the difficult circumstances that they have had to endure, surely this is not too much to ask of the new Government.

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