Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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145. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the annual cost of increasing maternity leave benefits by one week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks, six weeks, seven weeks, eight weeks, nine weeks and ten weeks, respectively. [19103/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Maternity benefit is paid for 26 weeks at a rate of €235 per week. The 2017 Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure of approximately €266 million on maternity benefit.

The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of maternity benefit is €10 million for each extra week. The following table estimates the additional cost of increasing the duration of maternity benefit above its current 26 week duration at the current weekly rate of €235:

These estimates are on a full year basis and assume that any increase in duration is implemented at the beginning of the year. It should be noted that this costing is subject to change over the coming months in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2017.

Any changes to the rate or duration of maternity benefit could also have implications for adoptive benefit; health and safety benefit; and paternity benefit. Revised figures for these schemes are not included in the costings above.

Any increase would have to be considered in the overall budgetary context.