Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I welcome the extension of the maternity leave and hope it continues to widen. I agree with Senator Cox that we must work towards enabling as soon as possible a mother to have one year at home with her child.

The male member of Fine Gael who said yesterday that the mother and father should share the maternity leave spoke with the best will in the world. He was saying that men want to take their responsibilities seriously but in hindsight, he would agree that the benefit should not be given at the mother's expense. We should consider providing paternity leave or paid parental leave which would allow the mother or the father to avail of that time with the child.

We need to move more quickly to extend the paid period for which a parent is at home with his or her child. Only certain people can afford to take the unpaid maternity or parental leave. Many parents who cannot afford to take unpaid maternity leave struggle in low-paid jobs. We hope that everyone will be put on an even footing such that all can avail of this benefit and receive payment to spend valuable time with their young children.