John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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690. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the details of the recent Government announcement to extend maternity leave to mothers that have a premature baby; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42984/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, 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 rate of payment was increased to €235 per week from March 2017. In 2017 it is estimated that my Department will spend approximately €266 million on maternity benefit, in respect of an average of 22,000 recipients per week.

New arrangements, which take effect for premature babies born on or after Sunday, 1 October, will increase the duration of maternity leave and the associated maternity benefit to be paid in cases where a baby is born prematurely.

Under the new arrangements, a mother who qualifies for maternity benefit will be entitled to an additional period of paid maternity leave, in addition to her current entitlement of 26 weeks, where her baby is born prematurely. The additional period to be added will be the number of weeks from the baby’s actual date of birth up to two weeks before the expected date of confinement, at which point the current entitlement to 26 weeks leave and benefit would normally begin. The additional period will commence at the end of the standard 26 week period of paid maternity leave.