John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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303. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to extend paid maternity leave as a result of Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7083/20]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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304. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if consideration will be given to a temporary extension of maternity leave and maternity benefit in view of the Covid-19 pandemic (details supplied). [7084/20]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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305. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he has considered extending maternity leave in cases in which the woman has no access to a childminder or spouse at home to mind the child in view of the fact that women on maternity leave have little access to childminding pending the phased opening of the economy; and the way in which the issue can be resolved for women due back from maternity leave that have a childminder or a spouse at home and are finding it impossible in view of the fact the employer cannot put them on the workplace payment nor can they access the pandemic unemployment payment. [7098/20]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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306. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will consider extending maternity leave if the crèches and childcare facilities do not have the capacity to take on young children due to Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7145/20]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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307. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans in place to extend maternity leave and maternity leave benefit in view of Covid-19 and the restrictions this has put on mothers; if consultations have taken place over the impact Covid-19 restrictions have had on mothers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7391/20]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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310. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to extend maternity leave for new mothers that have been impacted by Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7688/20]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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311. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if maternity leave and the maternity benefit will be temporarily extended in view of the interruption to patient and new baby support groups caused by the Covid-19 crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7810/20]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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314. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if due consideration will be given to extending the period of maternity leave for new mothers who have given birth since the Covid-19 restrictions were introduced. [8154/20]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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315. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to extend maternity leave in view of the fact that childcare facilities are closed due to Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8183/20]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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316. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if maternity leave will be extended for an additional three months for all current recipients to enable them avail of the benefits of support groups and access to family members. [8201/20]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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332. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if there is flexibility by which maternity leave payments can be extended due to exceptional circumstances during the Covid-19 crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7202/20]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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357. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if consideration will be given to extend paid maternity leave and benefit due to the Covid-19 crisis. [7863/20]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 303 to 307, inclusive, 309 to 311, inclusive, 314 to 316, inclusive, 332 and 357 together.

I am conscious of demands on parents at this time and hope that the additional measures to support working parents that I have introduced in recent years, including the new parent’s leave scheme and an extension of parental leave, are helping to ease some of these demands. These matters are being examined by Government.

As the law now stands, a mother is entitled to this leave irrespective of the duration of her current employment. The mother can take maternity leave from casual or part-time employment. She can take up to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, and up to a further 16 weeks of unpaid leave. Two weeks must be taken before the baby is due, and at least four weeks must be taken after the birth. As Minister of State for Justice and Equality, the legislation that governs the provision of maternity leave is my responsibility. The provision of maternity benefit is under the remit of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

In addition to maternity leave, each parent may also avail of two weeks of parent’s leave during the first year of a child’s life and may qualify for parent’s benefit during this period.

Parental leave is also available which entitles parents to take unpaid leave from work to spend time looking after their children. Parents can take up to 22 weeks of parental leave for each eligible child before their 12th birthday.