Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his very comprehensive opening statement. I certainly will not repeat what he said in his very detailed outline of what is involved in the Bill. I hope there is unanimity in the House that this is positive and we can get through the business of dealing with the Bill quickly.

Fianna Fáil is proud and happy to support this Bill, which will provide each parent of a child under the age of one with two weeks of paid parent's leave. This benefit will be available to parents of children born after 1 November 2019, which is quite soon. I know the Minister of State outlined delays etc. and we discussed last night how people will have children in that window of time and whether they will miss out if the baby is born on 31 October instead of 1 November. This benefit is separate from parental leave, which is unpaid.

My party wholeheartedly welcomes this initiative. This payment will provide working parents with the opportunity to spend some more time with their new baby during its first year of life. I hope the "use it or lose it" nature of the entitlement will encourage more men to take leave from their employment. Parental leave policies that support fathers' involvement are a powerful policy tool in tackling gender inequality. Studies have demonstrated that fathers who play an active role in the initial stages of their child's life are more likely to share child rearing duties later in life. I am sure in this day and age that this happens anyway but it is what the studies have shown. This in turn reduces the imbalance between the men and women in terms of responsibility for domestic duties and supports women's participation in the workforce, which is crucial.

If our positions were swapped, the Minister of State might put the argument I will make that this Government's record on childcare costs is poor. Practical support for working parents is very much needed. The OECD average for childcare costs is 12.6% of net family income but in Ireland that figure is more than twice as high, at 27.4%. Families are spending a staggering amount of net income on childcare costs. In the parts of Dublin where I served as a councillor, it amounts to a phenomenal cost per child. It can amount to €1,000 or €1,500 in many cases. Our percentage is the second highest in Europe and the Government is not doing enough to change this. The OECD's Education at a Glance 2017 report indicates that Ireland's expenditure on early childhood years education was only 0.1% of gross domestic product, GDP.We can argue about GDP figures a little, but it is compared with the EU average of 0.8%. There is eight times the difference between the EU average and what we are doing. The average rate of pay in the childcare sector is €11.18 per hour, which is well below the living wage. Nothing in yesterday's budget provides any comfort that this is going to change in the foreseeable future.

While the provisions of this Bill are welcome, it would be remiss of us not to take this opportunity to highlight the Government's failings in supporting working families. I acknowledge that the Minister of State is not the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Budget 2020 has failed to address the crisis in childcare. The Bill before the House provides that the paid leave entitlement will apply in respect of babies who are born after 1 November 2019, which is less than four weeks away. Although I am happy to facilitate its passage as quickly as possible, I am concerned that employers have been given very little time to make arrangements to facilitate this additional period of leave. I hope the Minister of State can explain the delay to a greater degree than it has been explained to date. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, and the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, announced in April to much fanfare that this benefit would become available. The Bill did not undergo any pre-legislative scrutiny in advance of its publication on 4 October last. Senators were given a limited number of hours to consider the Bill and submit any proposed amendments. The Minister of State has acknowledged that this is not how we should be doing our business. I am not having a go at him personally. Nonetheless, we will support the Bill. I thank the Minister of State for his opening statement. I look forward to the Bill being passed as quickly as possible.