Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

Again, the difficulty with this amendment is that the maternity working group wanted a situation where the leave would end immediately after the child came out of hospital. In order to provide some flexibility, we managed to get in a period of seven days. However, I believe it would be undesirable to extend it. We have moved from the original position recommended by the working group. To make it longer along the lines suggested in the amendment would leave the question of the additional leave hanging indefinitely. I will give the Senator the official response.

Subsection 9(2)(d) of the Bill provides that the postponed leave must be taken as a continuous period, beginning not later than seven days after the child is discharged from hospital. This is identical to the provision contained in subsection 7(4)(c) of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill 2003. The maternity working group recommended that provision should be made for the postponement of maternity leave in the event of the hospitalisation of the child, subject to the agreement of the employer. It also recommended that postponed leave should be taken in one continuous block when the baby is discharged from hospital. Section 9 applies this recommendation to adoptive leave.

The working group intended that the leave should only be postponed for the duration of the child's stay in hospital and that the employee would retain her entitlement to take the balance of the leave once the child was discharged. It follows that the employee should resume her leave as soon as possible after the date of discharge. Subsection (9)(2)(d), which provides that this leave shall commence within seven days of the child's discharge from hospital, meets this requirement. Senator Tuffy's amendment strays beyond the agreed recommendation of the working group, which appears to meet the needs of an adopting mother who would, in all likelihood, wish to take the postponed leave immediately on discharge of the child from hospital.