Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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217. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the cost of statutory paternity benefit in 2016; and the number of men who availed of the full two weeks. [18667/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The paternity benefit scheme was introduced on 1 September 2016 and provides a benefit payment of €235 per week to cover two weeks paternity leave, to be taken within 26 weeks of the birth of the baby. The detail requested on the total number of claims awarded in 2016, covering the period from 1 September to year end, along with the expenditure on the scheme is set out in the following table:

The Department does not collate statistics on the number of claimants who take a shorter paternity leave, so it is not possible to state how many availed of the full two weeks.