Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The First 5 Strategy aims to support parents to be at home with their children for the whole of their first year. Research suggests that children benefit particularly from parental care in this period and the Strategy sets out this evidence in detail. Under Phase 1 an individual entitlement to seven weeks of paid Parent’s Leave and Benefit was delivered to potentially allow children to benefit from an additional 14 weeks parental care in their first year.

The First 5 Implementation Plan (2023-2025) sets out additional measures that will allow parents to spend the whole of their baby’s first year in the home through a combination of paid family leave schemes by 2028. This includes increasing Parent’s Leave and Benefit for each parent to nine weeks by August 2024. This leave is deliberately non-transferable between parents to ensure that both parents are encouraged and supported in taking time out from work to spend time with their child.

By 2025, the combined durations of Maternity, Paternity and Parent’s Leave and Benefit will equate to 46 weeks leave for a two-parent family. Mothers also have an entitlement to 16 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave which is unpaid. Many parents add annual leave to their family leave entitlements which allows for at least a further four weeks of paid leave per parent. Family leave provisions are kept under review to ensure that they are effective and respond to the needs of families.

Data from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile 2021/22 show there were 43,498 places for children aged 0-3 nationally. This excludes places for children in most childminding settings. The First 5 Implementation Plan (2023-2025) aims to ensure that there are adequate places available to meet demand. By 2028, there will be 60,000 state-funded ELC places for children under 3 in line with the revised Barcelona Targets set by the European Commission. This target will provide sufficient places for 35% of 1-3 year olds, with additional places for children under 1, to continue to support parental choice. Delivery of this target will include the design and implementation of Pillars 1-3 of the Building Blocks Capital Programme for Early Learning and Childcare under the National Development Plan, the implementation of the recommendations of National Action Plan for Childminding and the implementation of the recommendations in Partnership for the Public Good.