Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

127. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of extending parental leave by two weeks. [24136/24]

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

Parental Leave allows parents to take 26 weeks unpaid leave for each eligible child before their twelfth birthday. My colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth holds responsibility for Parental Leave. There is no associated benefit payable with Parental Leave.

There is a separate scheme called Parent's Leave which is also the responsibility of Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. However, there is an associate benefit payment for which I have responsibility.

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 availed of within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption. Parent’s Benefit is paid at €274 per week - the same rate as Maternity, Paternity and Adoptive Benefits.

Budget 2024 provided for the number of weeks of Parent's Leave and Benefit available to each eligible parent to be increased from seven weeks to nine weeks from August 2024. The estimated cost of this increase in Parent's Benefit is €10.3 million in 2024 and the overall cost for a full year is €25.6 million.

This is based on the estimated number of recipients in 2023. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. There would be further additional costs to the Exchequer as these estimates do not include the costs for staff substitution which, in the Public Sector, would be a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Any decision regarding the extension of Parental Leave would be a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.