Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is great see the Minister in the House again to discuss this positive issue. It is timely that this Bill is before us on international women's week. Many parents have been contacting us about increased adoptive leave so it is great to be able to give a timeline to them.

To respond to Senator Mullen's comment that a family is founded in reality when it is a man and woman, that view is founded in a reality of prejudice. A family is a family, whatever way the child is brought into the world, loved and taken care of. We are leaving that prejudice behind and creating a new form of family. That is founded in reality.

I welcome the Bill. It amends the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 to enable one partner in a couple, regardless of sex, who have jointly adopted to avail of adoptive leave. It also amends the Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019 to increase the duration of the leave and the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 to increase the number of board members of Tusla.

The Bill is a positive move towards creating a fairer and more gender-balanced society. Those of us lucky enough to have a child, regardless of how it comes to a family, whether through physical birth or adoption, need to know the State recognises that every parent deserves time off to spend with the new baby, supporting each other and getting to know that little person for whom they are now responsible. It is a wonderful time. As a mammy whose partner was not able to take time off after the birth of our children, I know it would have made things much easier for us if he had that opportunity. It can be a difficult time for many reasons, including health reasons, and the support parents give each other in that time is important.

Family leave policies are intended to bolster and support gender equality and are integral to supporting child, maternal and paternal health and welfare, as well as birth rates and female participation in the labour market. The goal of all of us here is, I believe, to create a society where child-rearing is a gender-neutral activity. It is part of increasing women's participation in the labour market and reducing the gender pay gap. Bills such as this one and measures providing for non-transferability of entitlement are moves to create equity. Equity is not automatic and requires policy interventions such as this legislation. This and other legislation such as the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019 will create the equity we need to realise the idea of gender-neutral child-rearing. By recognising societal differences, we can create a new normal and reduce gender inequality by addressing the unconscious bias that women should have to care in the home.

I agree with Senator Pauline O'Reilly's call for an amendment to Article 41.2.I do not believe it should be deleted. The amendment to recognise the care that men and women give to our country and our society is really important. It will also herald a new attitude towards care. I mentioned to the Minister on Monday that we really need to look at the economic value of care and what it means in monetary terms to the State. It has a huge economic value that is not accounted for.

On the inequality of unconscious bias, this prejudice does remain to be fixed. We must tackle this. On Monday I also I referred to my running for election in 2019. I could not remember the number of times I was asked who was going to look after my children. It is an absolutely bizarre attitude. I responded that they have a father and they are grand. I said, "They are free range and will roam the Cooley Mountains". Thankfully, they are very well taken care of.

To date, research in Ireland shows that all forms of parental leave, except maternity leave, has been mixed. The research says that the challenges to taking parental leave, including paternity leave, relate in the main to the low compensation levels. The ability for a father or a mother, or the main bread earner, to take that parental leave is a difficulty if there is a gap. It is a stumbling block to people availing of it. The lack of flexibility on the timing is also an issue as are the cultural norms, as I mentioned earlier. This extension of two weeks to five weeks is very important. I am really glad that the Minister has extended it for the first two years. It makes it more flexible and more available to parents. The Government is very committed to ensuring that every child gets the best possible start in life. Supporting parents to spend more time with their children is a huge part of that. This five weeks will help mothers and fathers to take that precious time with their child in the first couple of years.

We need a stronger State childcare system. What part of our children's lives do we put out to private care? We do not do that with education in the main or at third level unless it is the parents' choice to put the child through private education. This has been the issue from the beginning of the State. Our Constitution says that the mother's place is in the home and they are the home carers, so why would we ever have created a childcare system to allow women to go out to work.

I welcome another commitment today by the Government and by the Minister to early learning and care, ELC. It is very clear that the Government has that commitment. The announcement today regarding the establishment of a joint labour committee for ELC and the school-age childcare sector is another step along the way. Our childcare workers are usually women and they deserve the best quality and the best career progression. As the Minister said earlier, there is always a distance to travel. This measure, however, marks a very important milestone towards improved pay and conditions for the workers in that sector.

The Bill responds to a specific commitment in the programme for Government and it is very welcome. It is a lot done but more to do, as was said on a few occasions. It is a very progressive step forward and I look forward to this growing in order to ensure that parents are looked after, supported and encouraged to do whatever they want, be it in the home or at work. I thank the Minister.