Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 461: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will consider proposals (details supplied) on funding child care services. [4481/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Proposals Nos. 1, 2 and 5 come within my Department's remit. I propose to deal with proposals Nos. 1 and 2 together. A review of the maternity protection legislation was carried out in 2000 by a working group, chaired by my Department, which comprised the social partners and relevant Departments and agencies. The working group was set up in accordance with commitments in the Government action programme for the millennium and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. The report of the working group on the review and improvement of the maternity protection legislation was published in February 2001.

Among its recommendations, the working group recommended an increase in the maternity leave entitlement, which attracts a payment from the Department of Social and Family Affairs, from 14 weeks to 18 weeks and an increase in the unpaid additional maternity leave entitlement from four weeks to eight weeks. These increases were announced in budget 2001 and implemented by means of the Maternity Protection Act 1994 (Extension of Periods of Leave) Order 2001 (SI No. 29 of 2001) with effect from 8 March 2001. Identical increases were simultaneously applied to the adoptive leave entitlement.

During its deliberations on the increase in the maternity leave periods, the working group considered both the benefits and costs to employers and to the economy generally. The benefit to employers and industry to the extent that increased maternity leave periods facilitates the increased participation and retention of women in the labour force was among the factors considered. The Irish Business and Employers Confederation, the Department of Finance and the Health Service Employers' Agency were represented on the group, and took costs into account, in their agreement to the recommendations.

The Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004, which was commenced on 18 October last, implemented the outstanding recommendations of the maternity protection review group and fulfilled a statutory component of the work-life balance programmes to which the Government is committed under Sustaining Progress. The 2004 Act makes no provision for a further extension of the maternity leave periods beyond the improvements implemented in 2001.

Proposals on the transfer of maternity leave to fathers were considered by the maternity working group who considered that "maternity leave is linked to a mother's welfare, and that as such, it is not appropriate to make any portion of maternity leave optionally transferable to fathers". The group also agreed that the issue of paternity leave would be considered in the context of a subsequent review of the Parental Leave Act 1998.

Proposals on the extension of the duration of parental leave, payment of parental leave and statutory paternity leave were considered in the context of the review of the Parental Leave Act 1998 which was conducted by a working group chaired by my Department. The working group comprised the social partners, relevant Departments and the Equality Authority. The report of the working group on the review of the Parental Leave Act 1998 was published on 29 April 2002.

During working group discussions the arguments, both for and against the proposals for extended parental leave, paid parental leave and paid paternity leave, were strong and the merits of each were enunciated in some depth in the report of the working group. In the course of their deliberations, the cost implications for employers of these proposals were considered by the working group. Concern was expressed by some members of the working group in relation to the adoption of any new measures which would result in increased costs for employers in view of the economic climate at that time and the need to maintain international competitiveness. Consequently, the group did not reach consensus on paid parental leave, paid paternity leave and increased duration of parental leave.

Subsequently, no agreement was reached on the extension of the duration of parental leave, the introduction of paid parental leave and paternity leave by the social partners in the context of the negotiations on the Sustaining Progress partnership agreement. In the absence of a consensus among the social partners the Government does not propose to provide for the extension of the duration of parental leave, paid parental leave or paternity leave.

The Government is committed as part of the Sustaining Progress partnership agreement to strengthen the parental leave scheme in accordance with the recommendations agreed in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness report of the working group on the review and improvement of the Parental Leave Act 1998. In this regard, the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004 was published and initiated in Seanad Éireann on 16 December, 2004. The Bill is scheduled for Committee Stage consideration in the Seanad tomorrow, 9 February.

The main provisions of the Bill include the following: raising the maximum age of the eligible child from five to eight years; an increase in the maximum age of the eligible child to 16 years in the case of children with disabilities; extension of parental leave entitlements to persons acting in loco parentis in respect of an eligible child; a statutory entitlement to take the 14 weeks parental leave in separate blocks.

On proposal No. 5, the Government has already significantly increased the funding available to the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006, EOCP, since its launch in April 2000 and, following the EOCP's good performance in the mid-term review of the NDP, a further €12 million in the level of EU funding has been made available. Taken together this has meant that the funding available to the EOCP has risen by almost 60% from an original allocation of €317 million to €499 million for the period to the end of the NDP. This includes an increase of €50 million in capital funding which was announced in the most recent budget. The Government has also committed €40 million in capital funds for the next phase of child care funding up to 2009, demonstrating its commitment to developing child care services across the country and into the future.

The Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006 provides grant aid for capital, staffing and quality improvement projects in the child care sector. It is intended that the EOCP will increase the number of child care places and services nationwide, support the introduction of a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of child care services and improve the quality of child care in Ireland. To date the EOCP has committed over €313 million which will lead to the creation of over 33,500 new child care places, of which 20,500 are already in place as of June 2004, and the support of almost 30,000 existing child care places.