David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be here again to participate in the debate on the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017. Today is an opportunity for Members of this House to put their views on the record and I am pleased to contribute to this discussion. I am also glad of the opportunity to update this House on the work that is under way in Government on supporting families and children, which is something we all agree is a priority.

As initially published and later amended by Dáil Éireann, the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill provides for the extension of the existing entitlement to parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks for both parents, and creates a further entitlement to an additional eight weeks parental leave for those parents who have already used their 18 weeks. There is also provision for increasing the age of the child for which parental leave is available from eight to 12 years. Although the Government has some reservations about the Bill, which I will outline shortly, the general principle is to be commended, and as we have previously stated in the Lower House, and now to reiterate here, the Government is generally in favour of it.

Parents want choice, flexibility and the opportunity to spend more time with their children, and the Bill will help to facilitate this. I believe that the provision of family-related leave is important in creating a balance between family and working life, and it is for this reason that I am supportive of the Bill. We have to help to support families, and the Government is committed to doing so. Under budget 2019, for instance, my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, announced an €89 million increase in funding for childcare. This means that in 2019, Government investment in childcare will amount to €576 million. This increased investment will provide access to high-quality, affordable childcare for over 175,000 children and improved subsidies for 40,000 others. Furthermore, as the House will also be aware, free pre-school provided under the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme has been extended and as of this autumn, all children will be eligible for two full years of free pre-school education before transitioning to primary school. This delivers on a commitment in the programme for Government.

In addition, the Government has committed an extra €10 million through our access and inclusion model, AIM, to ensure that children with disabilities can participate in and benefit from the ECCE programme. In total, in 2019 the Government will provide somewhere in the region of €127 million to help support parents and children in respect of childcare and education programmes through the work of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs alone. My Department has also been instrumental in recent years in improving available supports to parents. I would remind the House that it was the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, who extended parental leave from 14 to 18 weeks, demonstrating the commitment of successive Fine Gael Governments to improving the entitlements offered to parents.

In September 2016, I was happy to bring paternity leave legislation through the House which provides two weeks’ paid paternity leave for fathers on the birth of their baby. In the first full year of the programme, 2017, almost 27,000 new fathers availed of the leave and benefit, and figures released this week by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection show that a total of 51,409 fathers have now applied to the scheme since its introduction. This increase in take-up of paternity leave is a very positive development for this country, as research shows that when fathers take a more significant and meaningful share in the parenting of their children, the family unit and wider society benefits.

In 2017, my Department introduced legislation that provided for the extension of maternity leave and maternity benefit in cases of premature births. Furthermore, as part of budget 2019, the Government announced the introduction of a new paid parental leave scheme which will commence in late 2019. I hope to be in a position to bring that legislation before the Houses at some point next year. This new scheme will initially provide for two weeks of paid, non-transferable leave per parent, with a view to expanding the scheme in future years. As Members of both Houses know, the background to the new paid parental leave scheme is the commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government to increase paid parental leave during the first year of a child’s life, and I am happy to say that the new scheme delivers on this commitment.

I think it is important in the context of the debate here this evening to explain why the Government focus is on paid parental leave as opposed to unpaid parental leave. The introduction of paid parental leave supports the Government’s broader gender equality policy as it is expected that fathers, as well as mothers, will be encouraged to take time off work to care for their children if they are in receipt of benefits while doing so. For too long, the majority of caring responsibilities have been undertaken by women. It is time to put policies in place that encourage fathers to share more of that caring role. Children do best when both parents are facilitated to take an active role in their parenting so this approach makes sense in terms of child welfare. Equally, it makes sense in gender equality terms. Women have been held back in terms of career advancement because of their caring roles. As a result, they will not have the same opportunities, or pay, as men. Paid parental leave will help to offset the career and economic disadvantage experienced by women as a result of their default position as the parent who traditionally takes family leave.Lastly on this point, the Government is concentrating its efforts on the introduction of paid leave as it is expected that this will result in overall, lower childcare costs for parents of younger children, which as we are all aware are quite significant.

With its focus on the expansion of unpaid leave, the Bill fails to consider these wider and more complex factors. It is very likely that extending an unpaid family leave requirement would mean that the lower paid of the two parents, which is very often the mother, would take the available leave with consequent impacts for these mothers in terms of pay and pension entitlements. This, in turn, will continue to perpetuate the tendency of employers to view caring roles as the responsibility of mothers rather than fathers, as highlighted by some Senators here. This aspect has negative implications in terms of gender equality and the opportunities potentially available to women within the workforce. I feel very strongly that fathers should be facilitated to undertake a caring role for their children and the Deputies' Bill does nothing to encourage men to participate more in parenting duties. Equally, only parents on higher incomes may have the resources needed to avail of the leave.

Furthermore, the Bill while laudable does not take into account the policy approach put forward by the European Commission in its proposal for a new work-life balance directive. That directive is currently under discussion in trilogues between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council Presidency. The directive's key proposal is that parental leave should be made available to parents on a paid basis. The directive is part of a package of EU measures aimed at addressing the under-representation of women in employment and supporting women's career progression by creating improved conditions whereby they can reconcile their working responsibilities and family commitments.

Senators will recall that on Second Stage in the Dáil, I indicated that pre-legislative scrutiny should take place on the Bill. Unfortunately, the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality decided against undertaking such scrutiny. As a result, the Bill's provisions have not been subject to a formal consultation process with employers or other stakeholders. There can be little doubt, however, that the proposed extension of parental leave has the potential to bring about significant costs on businesses relating to recruitment, replacement and training to fill temporary vacancies. Given this point, the Government may again seek to mitigate the impact of these provisions on public and private sector employers by proposing amendments aimed at phasing in the additional leave. I have listened to what Senators have said about this matter this evening and I am really interested in hearing comments from them on this particular point.

In conclusion, we all share the objective of wanting to support families. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, the Government and, from what I have heard, every Member of the Oireachtas are committed to providing the utmost support to parents and families in the State. For reasons I have already outlined, the Government's key initiative in this policy area is the introduction of paid parental leave. Nonetheless, it is generally supportive of the Bill and recognises that the Bill expands parents' choices and facilitates increased family time. Therefore, the Government will not oppose the progress of the Bill. We may seek to bring forward amendments at either Committee or Report Stage, not to hinder the Bill but complement its provisions and ensure that it can work in parallel with the Government's own intentions in relation to paid parental leave.