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

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 7, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: "Report on extending availability of full Parent's Benefit to lone parents

9.The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on extending the availability of the full duration of Parent's Benefit to lone parents to examine the effect that enabling all children to equally avail of the full duration of this Benefit would have and that the report shall be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within nine months of the passing of this Act.".

This relates to an issue I raised with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, on a number of occasions, namely, the duration of parental leave, which has been extended to seven weeks per parent. While this is very welcome, I want to raise an issue affecting lone-parent families. If a child is born to a two-parent family, that family will get 14 additional weeks altogether, which is welcome, but if a child is born into a lone-parent family, it will mean just seven weeks, which is an awful lot less. I am aware that the measure was brought in through the EU. There were different ways in which it was brought in and there may have been difficulties, but I ask that we examine the benefit to ensure equality for lone-parent families and to ensure children born into and brought up in a lone-parent family have the same start in life as those born into a two-parent family. I ask that the Minister consider this or at least agree to doing so.

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