Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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432. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the progress being made on providing for adoptive leave and removing the lacuna in the legislation which discriminates against same sex male couples in view of the commitment given by the previous Government. [41232/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The extension of adoptive leave is an important commitment in the Programme for Government. On 22 October 2019 Government approved the general scheme of the Adoptive Leave (Amendment) Bill to amend the Adoptive Leave Act 1995. The scheme provides for married male same-sex adopting couples to be eligible for adoptive leave and benefit. It also provides for all adopting couples – same-sex and opposite-sex – to be able to choose which of the couple should take the adoptive leave. At the moment, adoptive leave is structured so that the adopting mother takes the leave. The new provisions would enable either the adopting mother or the adopting father to be eligible to take adoptive leave once the choice has been made by the couple. 

Work is advancing on drafting these provisions.  The Government is examining legislative options for taking these proposals forward at an early stage.