Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to discuss this important Bill, which aims to improve maternity protection for employees. The Minister of State acknowledged the large number of women who have contributed, and who continue to contribute, to our economy. However, he has missed a valuable opportunity to improve the position of working parents. Ireland is far behind other countries in terms of maternity protection provision and the Bill fails to address many problems in this area.

The Bill contains a number of worthwhile provisions. Section 6 provides for the postponement of additional maternity leave if a child is hospitalised, while, under section 7, expectant mothers can attend one set of ante-natal classes without loss of pay. It also provides fathers with the right to attend the final two ante-natal classes with paid leave. The legislation also provides that an employee's absence from work on additional maternity leave will count for all employment rights associated with the employment, seniority and annual leave. These provisions are necessary and welcome.