Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Civil Engagement group, I commend the Minister of State and the Bill, which is an excellent one. It is particularly gratifying as this is an area I worked on previously with the National Women's Council of Ireland, in my former role campaigning with Start Strong and ICTU trying to drive this forward. There was positive engagement by the Government on this issue. We had a very constructive engagement.

The Bill is an important step forward in valuing care, in recognising care as the lifeblood of society and in addressing the balance of care between parents to recognise the role of fathers and other partners in caring and in the relationship with their children. The legislation places a real, symbolic and concrete value on that.

I commend some of the choices made. It is excellent that paternity leave is a stand-alone right and separate from maternity leave. It is a right that will be held by fathers and partners. That was the right decision. I also commend the fact that the legislation extends to people in same-sex partnerships and same-sex marriages, which is very important.

I have a small concern but I think it is one we can address constructively in the future. Paternity leave can be taken at quite a late stage. I am concerned about that, given that the original purpose of the legislation was for paternity leave to be taken concurrently with maternity leave in order to allow parents to simultaneously bond with their new child and spend time caring for their child. We must monitor that it does not become the case that paternity leave is always taken subsequently. I know that is a capacity within the Bill but I believe that function rightly belongs to paid parental leave. I have no doubt the Minister of State will drive forward progress on paid parental leave as the next step in that recognition of care within society.

Lastly, I urge positive engagement by all parties within society with this Bill. I urge employers to engage constructively and positively to see this as a way of valuing their employees and of recognising their employees as whole people with full lives. I also urge that we have an awareness campaign to ensure that people avail of paternity leave. Perhaps the Minister of State might speak to the Department of Social Protection and other Departments about an awareness campaign.

I commend the Bill. It is a symbolic and important step forward. We are happy to support the legislation.