John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the case of Dáithí McCann, a five-month-old baby from Dundalk, County Louth. Dáithí was born on 5 August 2022 but he lost a kidney soon after birth. His second kidney is also under threat. Fewer than 1% of babies are born with such a complex range of medical conditions and Dáithí has not been able to come home yet. A GoFundMe page with a target of €12,000 has raised €23,000 to help the family with accommodation costs in Dublin, medical costs and so on. The reason I bring this matter up today is that the maternity leave of Dáithí's mother, Bronagh, has now expired. We should have a debate on maternity leave in the new year, specifically on what can be done in cases where it runs out and a mother of a severely sick child has no other options available to her.There should be situations where maternity leave can be extended. That would provide a degree of financial help for somebody like Bronagh. We are doing so much now, such as introducing maternity leave for councillors and so on. Therefore, in instances where a child has severe medical issues, we should consider a more rounded approach such as an extension of maternity leave. Finally, I would appreciate if a debate on the matter could be arranged for the new year.