Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

This amendment seeks to amend section 10(1) of the principal Act to provide for the reduction in the compulsory period of pre-confinement maternity leave from four weeks to two weeks. Senators may recall that, during the debate on Second Stage, I undertook to examine the possibility of reducing the pre-confinement period of maternity leave. I am aware that the current four-week compulsory pre-confinement period of maternity leave has given rise to a situation where many pregnant employees collude with their doctors to have a false confinement date inserted into their medical certificates so that they can avail of a longer period of maternity leave after the birth.

This amendment arises from updated legal advice which states that, provided employees can avail of non-compulsory pre-confinement leave in excess of the two-week period, the reduction in the period of compulsory pre-confinement leave in section 10(1) of the Maternity Protection Act 1994 to two weeks does not reduce the level of protection and is not prohibited by Article 1(3) of the pregnant workers' directive. This amendment will effectively allow new mothers to take up to 16 weeks of their paid maternity leave after the birth of their child and offers them greater flexibility in managing their leave entitlements in a way which best suits their personal circumstances.