Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Central to what we are trying to do is to support the rebalancing of those caring responsibilities and move away from the perception, as described by the Deputy, of what mam and dad are doing at this time. That is why parents' leave is not transferable, and I know there was some criticism of this at the time, but that is how it has to be. There are seven weeks for the mother and seven weeks for the father. If he does not take up the leave, that is fine, but it will not be transferred. It is there to support fathers and families to do those things, which I believe is the right approach.

As to the importance of breast-feeding, our colleague, Senator Pauline O'Reilly, tabled a motion in the Seanad yesterday on medical and other supports in that regard. This measure is a practical support to encourage mothers to be able to do that and to ensure work places recognise the importance of this and provide the additional time.

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