Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and I congratulate and very much thank Senator White for introducing the Parental Leave Bill. I will speak in support of the Bill and highlight some issues which could be addressed on Committee Stage to strengthen it and broaden its scope.

Sitting here on such a beautiful day we are all aware of work-life balance and getting it right is notoriously difficult, particularly in the current economic environment where parents feel their choice to take leave to be with young children has been significantly diminished and in some cases removed. Children often lose out with regard to bonding time with both parents in early years. It is important we support parents of young children in this difficult balancing act of caring for a young family and working. The best outcome for children is a quality early childhood experience with their parents and quality early years education.

Parental leave is very important because it gives parents an equal role in caring for their children and helps break down negative and prevailing gender stereotypes about child care. In this regard I express my support for the overwhelming vote of the Constitutional Convention in support of considering Article 42.1 of the Constitution which refers to women in the home. A total of 98% of delegates voted in favour of a proposal to alter the article to make it more gender neutral and acknowledge the important role of other carers in the home. It would be an important amendment to our Constitution in the fight against gender stereotyping.

If fathers taking and sharing paternity leave in the early part of their children's lives were the norm and actively encouraged I believe employers would be far less likely to apply, intentionally or unintentionally, bias in terms of hiring and promoting staff. We often hear anecdotally from employers that when they interview somebody in their 20s and 30s they look at a female through a different lens then they look at a man.