Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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606. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing the weekly maternity benefit payment by €20 for one year based on maternity leave uptake numbers in 2016. [20497/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Maternity benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed pregnant women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions in order to avoid the need for them to work pre and post-delivery of their baby. The original scheme was introduced in 1970 and was extended to include self-employed mothers with effect from June 1997.

In 2016 my Department spent €255.8 million on maternity benefit and in 2017 it is estimated that my Department will spend approximately €266 million, in respect of an average of 22,000 recipients per week.

The estimated cost of increasing maternity benefit by €20 per week for a full year would be approximately €22.6 million.