Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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126. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of extending paternity leave by two weeks. [24135/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Paternity Benefit is a payment for employed people who are on Paternity Leave from work and who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions and for self-employed people who satisfy the contribution conditions. It is paid for two weeks at €274 per week, the same rate as Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Parent’s Benefit. Paternity benefit was paid to 27,111 recipients in 2023 at a cost of approximately €14.71 million.

Any decision to extend the period of Paternity Leave for employees is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, who has policy and legal responsibility for Paternity Leave. An extension of this leave would require careful consideration and consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The cost of extending Paternity Benefit by 2 weeks which would double the existing duration to 4 weeks is approximately €14.34 million which would result in an annual expenditure on the scheme of approximately €28.68 million.

These estimates are based on a full year basis and on the number of recipients in 2023. It should be noted that this costing is 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 which, in the Civil and Public Sector, would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.