Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

To maintain consistency with national breastfeeding policy, which was changed by the Minister for Health and Children on 5 August 2003 to promote exclusive infant breastfeeding for the first six months, I propose to amend the provisions contained in section 8 to now provide an entitlement to breastfeeding breaks in the workplace or reduced hours to breastfeeding employees who have given birth within the previous six months.

A breastfeeding employee is defined in section 2 of the principal Act as "An employee whose date of confinement was not more then 26 weeks earlier, who is breastfeeding and who has informed her employer of her condition". As this definition encompasses the six month period, I am advised it is not necessary to make specific reference to six months in the amendment to section 8 of the Bill. While I am not too hung up about it, this is the advice I have received. The main thing is that we are changing it from four months to six months.