Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this legislation and, in particular, the long-awaited increase of three weeks per parent of parent's leave and benefit. I will take this opportunity to acknowledge and commend the work of the Extend Maternity Leave campaign group, which has fought hard for additional supports for parents, in particular new ones, since Covid hit this time last year. When debating this legislation, it is important to acknowledge all of the parents who had a baby before or during Covid and who have been left in a difficult situation. They have not had the level of support from family and friends that would normally have been available to them. Parents, and mothers particularly, have faced significant difficulties at the end of their maternity leave. They have been put in the position of having to choose between taking unpaid parental leave, which was the only option in many cases, or returning to work and leaving their babies, who were just six or seven months old in some cases, with a minder. On top of all of that, many crèches do not accept children under one year of age.

I wish to make a number of points about this legislation. They have already been raised with the Minister, including during the pre-legislative scrutiny phase. It is unfortunate that he has not tabled amendments to the Bill. The points have not been heard or taken on board.

My first point relates to parents who have a baby through surrogacy. I was not aware that they were excluded entirely from all paid parental supports until it was brought to my attention by a number of parents in recent weeks. Having a baby is difficult enough for parents who cannot conceive and go on to choose surrogacy. Whatever way someone brings a new baby into the world, not to have that entitlement or paid support to spend time with the baby is shameful. The Minister needs to consider this matter because these parents are being excluded. That is wrong.

My next point has been raised by lone parent organisations, including One Family and Single Parents Acting for the Rights of Kids, SPARK. There is an assumption in this legislation that a family has two parents, but that is not always the case. Like the lone parent organisations, I ask that the lone parent get the entire ten weeks of paid parent's leave. Whether a baby is born into a family with two parents or one, that baby should not lose out on the additional support from a parent in his or her first year of life. Will the Minister consider this proposal?

I wish to raise an issue that has been brought to my attention by a mother who had her baby prematurely in October 2019 just before the leave was introduced that November. Is there any flexibility for parents who should have had their babies from November 2019 onwards but whose babies were born prematurely? In this case, it was a high-risk pregnancy and birth. The additional leave would be welcome to parents who had a baby prematurely. I would like to hear the Minister's views on this matter.

Will the Minister encourage employers to allow for flexibility around the minimum of six weeks notice that parents have to give in order to take parent's leave and to top up this leave where possible? People have experienced difficulties in taking up the scheme. I assume that is because it provides just €245 per week, which is a large drop in income for some workers.

I wish to reference the EU work-life balance directive, which must be transposed by Ireland by June 2022. It will allow for nine weeks of parent's leave and benefit. The budget in October will be the last possible opportunity for the Government to ensure that we meet the directive's obligations. It will be embarrassing if we do not. When an additional four weeks of parent's leave is announced in the next budget, we must not have the same delays that we have seen with the scheme so far. This parent's leave scheme was announced a long time ago and was spoken about last summer, but parents had to wait almost a year for it to be introduced. There were issues. For example, systems had to be set up in the Department of Social Protection. When this badly needed benefit is being introduced, it should be implemented as quickly as possible and the systems should be ready to go.

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