Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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There have been significant developments in the entitlements to family leaves for working families in recent years. The Government committed in the Programme for Government to supporting parents, including by extending paid leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their baby during the first year in the form of seven weeks Parent's Leave for each parent, to be taken within a child's first two years. Parent’s Leave and Benefit will increase by a further two weeks to nine weeks by August 2024.

Under the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019, an employee who is a relevant parent in respect of a child under the age 12 is entitled to 26 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child. Where a child has a disability or long-term illness, the entitlement can continue until the child is 16. A relevant parent is a parent, an adoptive parent, or a person acting in ‘loco parentis’.

Both parents have an equal, separate entitlement to parental leave. Where both parents work for the same employer and the employer agrees, one parent can transfer 14 weeks of their parental leave entitlement to the other parent.

The 2019 Act extended the parental leave entitlements from 18 weeks to 26 weeks, and the extension of the time period in which the leave can be taken from when the child attains the age of 8 years to when the child attains the age of 12 years.

Family leave provisions are kept under review to ensure that they are effective and respond to the needs of families. Mindful of the recent significant increase in family leave entitlements through the Family Leaves and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 and the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, the Government has no plans to make further amendments to parental leave entitlements.