Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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212. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the first- and full-year cost of extending parent’s leave benefit up to eight weeks. [31207/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Parent's Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who are on Parent's Leave from work who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is currently paid for nine weeks at €289 per week.

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

The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of Parent's Benefit is approximately €16 million for each additional week.

The cost of extending Parent's Benefit by eight weeks, from 9 weeks to 17 weeks at the current rate of €289 would result in an additional annual cost of over €130 million with a new total annual cost of over €240 million.

These estimates are based on a costing exercise using the 2025 expenditure estimate of €114 million. It should be noted that this costing is based on estimated recipient numbers and is subject to change.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.