Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch. I welcome the Bill tabled by Senator White and commend her for it. I broadly support the principles of the Bill, which I will speak about, and I will further delve into it as I would also like to discuss the area of adoption.

As a mother of five children and a former school teacher I have real-world experience in the area of maternity leave. Perhaps I was fortunate in that I worked for a Department, had a public service job and was entitled to maternity leave. As somebody who took maternity leave five times in six years I will admit the fourth time I felt almost embarrassed to be asking for maternity leave again. I did not have any issues, but some people commented to me that I was lucky to work in the public service and was entitled to it. Only once did I ever hear comments that I felt should not have been made. I feel very strongly that women should not be ashamed, feel intimidated or be hindered in their career or profession. In interviews they should not be looked at differently because they are women in their 20s or of childbearing age or are pregnant. It should not have any bearing.

I welcome the Bill and the importance it would give to paternity leave. At the time my maternity leave was at least half of what it is now, and while the opportunities available now have been curtailed by the economic situation some sectors still enjoy good maternity leave.

An important and welcome aspect of the Bill is the proposed time off for antenatal classes. A pregnant employee should be entitled to take time off for one set of antenatal classes without loss of pay and we need to discuss this further. The father should also be entitled to a once-off period without loss of pay for the purpose of attending antenatal classes. My husband was self-employed and there was never a question he would come because he could not take time from work.

I agree the measures laid out in the Bill would place Ireland on a firmer footing with our European counterparts.

Currently, parental leave is predominantly in favour of the mother, without much time afforded to the father. Neither is there a statutory entitlement to paternity leave. In the Civil Service, fathers receive three days of special paternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Elsewhere, it is usually left to the discretion of the employer. Some employers are more generous in granting paternity leave than others.

In the UK, which we should examine closely, it has been proposed that fathers would be entitled to one or two weeks of paternity leave and could also share in the mother's maternity leave, which is termed "additional paternity leave", to be taken after the baby is 20 weeks old and before the baby is one year of age. This proposal will take effect in 2015.

I support the call in broad terms and agree that women should not be made to feel as if their professional development or progression is adversely affected by taking maternity leave or by not returning earlier. Sometimes, women feel under pressure to return earlier than scheduled. As Oireachtas Members, we are tasked with providing the conditions for fair and equal employment for all citizens. Just as we do not want women to encounter issues, the same should be the case for men. There should be a balance. No mother of the 21st century should have to narrow her professional prospects to have a family, but this raises the issue of child care.