Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

This amendment is also rejected. The proposed amendment is inconsistent with the recommendation of the maternity working group and gives rise to an anomaly with the provisions of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill.

The working group recommended that provision should be made for the postponement of the maternity leave in the event of hospitalisation of the child, subject to the agreement of the employer, and that the postponed leave should be taken in one continuous bloc when the baby is discharged from hospital. Section 9(2)(d) meets this requirement by providing that the postponed leave should be taken as a continuous period beginning not later than seven days after the child is discharged from hospital. This is identical to the provisions in section 7(4)(c) of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill 2003.

The recommendation of the working group is constructed to meet the needs of an adopting mother by offering her the opportunity to return to work while her child is in hospital and postponing her untaken leave until her child is discharged from hospital, provided the employer agrees. Effectively, in section 9 of the Bill we are putting in place some flexibility for adopting mothers in employment who find themselves in the particularly difficult situation where their child is in hospital. The provision that the untaken leave should be taken within seven days of the child's discharge from hospital reflects the reality that the adopting mother would, in all probability, wish to take the postponed leave immediately upon the discharge of the child from the hospital for the care of the child at home. In the case of an adopted child, the mother's presence is more important given the need to re-establish a bond with the child in his or her new family.