Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 621: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the cost of introducing payment in respect of parental leave where that payment would be paid at the same rate as maternity leave is at present. [31212/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to the commitment by Government and the Social Partners in Towards 2016 to review the level of statutory entitlements to maternity and paternity leave before the end of 2008. The Deputy may also note that the commitment in the Agreed Programme for Government is, over the next five years, to increase paid maternity leave by five weeks, to make all leave after the first 26 weeks available to either parent and, to examine the possibility of introducing a statutory entitlement to paternity leave and shared parental leave.

It is in the context of these commitments that the question of introducing paid parental leave and the costs associated with such parental benefit will fall to be examined. No costs of the kind sought by the Deputy are available at present. However, the question of introducing paid parental leave was examined by the Working Group on the Review of the Parental Leave Act 1998, which was published by my Department in April 2002. Some preliminary costings only were included. The Report is available on my Department's website.