Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

571. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if contingency plans are in place for new mothers and fathers due to go back to work between January and April 2021 before the five-week parents’ leave allowance commences from April 2021. [45128/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Responsibility for Parents Leave rests with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and it will lead on drafting and progressing the legislative change necessary to give parents the right to apply to their employer to take the additional parents leave, as provided for in Budget 2021.  Once this legislation has been enacted, parents will be entitled to avail of their additional leave entitlements. 

My Department expects to be in a position to process applications for the additional periods of parents benefit from April 2021, as IT systems and operational processes need to be adapted.  However, the extra weeks of leave will be made available as soon as the necessary legislation to introduce the new weeks of Parents Leave is enacted. Once the new application and payment system goes live in April, my Department will then process and issue payments, to include backdated payment of benefit as appropriate, in respect of Parents Leave taken from the date of enactment.  Retrospective applications for the additional three weeks Parent’s Benefit will be accepted, provided the applicant has agreed their leave dates with their employer.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.