Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This morning, I was proud to stand outside Leinster House with mothers calling for the extension of maternity leave for 12 weeks. Senators are well aware of the petition, which has almost 30,000 signatures from people throughout the State. I spoke with Mary from Drimnagh about the issues facing many new mothers who gave birth during the lockdown. They have not had an opportunity to socialise with their children. Many medical appointments and check-ups have been cancelled. Mothers have been isolated from services. Perhaps most worryingly, there is now difficulty securing childcare places. We all know that many crèches are limiting places. When he was Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar said he would consider it but since Deputy Micheál Martin has taken over, there has been absolutely no word from the Government. I cannot say I am that surprised, given that most in Fianna Fáil were content to sacrifice the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in the run-up to the programme for Government negotiations. Today, Fianna Fáil Senators are calling for the issue to be pushed off to the Covid committee but the Taoiseach should take direct responsibility for this.Will this legislation be brought before these Houses? More than €100 million is a significant figure but these are unprecedented times. On a separate note, I have not forgotten that the last Government broke promises on the introduction of adoptive leave for same-sex parents.