Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 6, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following:

“Reporting

4. (1) The Minister shall, not later than six months after the passing of this Act, carry out a review of the operation of this Act.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Minister, as part of the review, shall— (a) conduct policy and budgetary analysis on a potential further extension of leave under this Act, from five weeks to nine weeks and establish a timeline for this provision,

(b) consider the degree to which EU Directive 2019/1158 requires further transposition into Irish law and present a timeline for its full implementation,

(c) assess the possibility of streamlining all parental leave legislation including Maternity/Paternity/Parental Leave and Benefit to simplify parental leave provision,

(d) examine ways to close the substantial gap between the end of parental leave (including paid and unpaid leave entitlements) and the start of Early Childhood Education and Care entitlement,

(e) examine ways in which paid parental leave can be extended to lone parents, and

(f) consider the need to increase the rate of payment for leave under this Act to encourage increased take up of the scheme. (3) The Minister shall, not later than three months after the commencement of the review under subsection (1), make a report to each House of the Oireachtas on the findings of that review, including proposals for policy and legislative reform.”.

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