Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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1358.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of an additional three weeks of paid parent’s leave in 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32713/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Parents Benefit is a payment for self-employed people and employees, who are on Parents Leave, who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is currently paid for seven weeks but as a result of measures included in Budget 2024 both the leave and benefit are being extended to nine weeks for each parent from the first of August 2024. The payment is €274 per week.

Any decision to extend the period of Parents 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 the scheme. Any extension of this leave would require careful consideration and consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The cost of extending Parents Benefit by 3 weeks, from 9 weeks to 12 weeks, at the currently weekly rate of €274 would result in an additional annual expenditure on the scheme of approximately €42.3 million.

These estimates are based on a full year basis and on the number of recipients in 2024. 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.

This estimates does 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.