Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

655. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the full-year cost in 2024 of extending parental leave and benefits by four weeks for mothers, and six weeks for fathers. [40679/23]

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

Parent's Leave and Benefit are currently available for seven weeks to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1 November 2019 and must be used within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption. Parent’s Benefit is paid at €262 per week - the same rate as Maternity, Paternity and Adoptive Benefits.

A budget in excess of €89 million is provided for Parent’s Benefit in 2023. Any decision to extend the period of Parent's Leave is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Integration, Disability, and Youth, who has policy and legal responsibility for Parent's Leave.

The cost of extending Parent's Benefit by 4 weeks for mothers is approximately €30.7 million while the cost of extending Parent's Benefit for fathers by 6 weeks is €30.8 million. This would result in an annual expenditure on the scheme of approximately €151 million. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated number of recipients.

These estimates do not reflect any additional costs which may be incurred by employers who provide substitution or salary top-ups. In line with the EU Work Life Balance Directive, Parent’s Leave and Benefit will increase by two weeks to nine weeks by August 2024.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

656. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost in 2024 if the carer's support grant increased to €2,000. [40680/23]

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

The estimated full year cost of increasing the Carer's Support Grant by €150 to €2,000 is €21.8 million. It should be noted that this cost is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2024.