Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

I direct these remarks to the officials in the Department. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, undertook to examine this issue again and it is obvious that he has done so. However, the points raised on Second and Committee Stages are still valid and need to be reiterated. The Minister of State made a significant and very welcome change with regard to the timing of maternity leave by allowing women the choice to take only two weeks leave before delivery as opposed to the four weeks which was previously stipulated. That has created a change in the time women remain at work before they take maternity leave. Most antenatal classes take place in the latter two months of pregnancy. If that is the case, a woman is attending antenatal classes during the time she is still working. I made the point on Committee Stage that in the Western Health Board area, the set of antenatal classes provided by the board consists of four sessions in four weeks. This legislation discriminates against those women because the last three classes are not covered, that is, three quarters of the course is not covered.

I understand ICTU and IBEC were very involved in the partnership approach to this legislation. If the issue was revisited by the working group there may be some solution which would not increase the cost by a significant amount. It is accepted practice that most employers pay for the entire time off to attend antenatal classes. That is the case in my business where women are never deducted the time off for attendance at antenatal classes, despite what is stipulated in the legislation. We must be very careful to ensure that this does not cause discrimination. I hope there will be an opportunity to examine this issue again before the Bill becomes law.