Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. The Parent's Leave and Benefit Bill 2019 is a key component of the Government's commitment in this area, as set out in A Programme for a Partnership Government. I am delighted that Fianna Fáil is facilitating the quick passage of the Bill through the House in the interests of confidence and supply. I know that parents all over the country are waiting in anticipation of the passage of the Bill. Now that this country's unemployment rate has decreased to 5.2%, we need to think outside the box as we seek to supply a high-quality workforce to businesses and various other interests in this country while facilitating people as they seek to achieve a work-life balance. All parents want to spend as much time as they can with their children.

While this Bill is an incremental step in the right direction, I think we will all acknowledge that much more needs to be done. If we can strike a proper balance between lifestyle and work, we will have a far better society, a far healthier society and a far happier society at work and at home. To that end, this Bill is a significant step in the right direction. We have a great deal to do to facilitate people who wish to work from home, which is an ideal situation. We all meet people from time to time who work from home, and we hear about the benefits of doing so. Last night, I spoke to a man whose wife works for IBM. She works from home three or four days a week. He maintains that she believes she is far more productive, and achieves much more, when she works from home. The whole principle of lifestyle balance is important. This Bill goes a long way towards achieving that.

I thank the Minister of State for bringing this Bill before the House. I sincerely hope we can expedite it through the House today. I look forward to families in my constituency and throughout the whole country benefitting immediately from the provisions of this Bill at the start of next month. I am thinking particularly of people who are trying to plan childcare. I fully acknowledge the challenges with childcare. It is a challenge all over the country. People encounter this challenge when they are going back to work because they cannot get high-quality childcare. Much needs to be done. By getting this done, we are doing something that is worthwhile and is in the interests of parents and young children. I welcome the Bill.