Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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525. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending parent’s benefit to 52 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35645/25]

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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528. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of extending parent’s benefit by one week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35706/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 525 and 528 together.

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 primarily 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 and examined in the context of overall budgetary resources.

My Department has undertaken a costing exercise based on the 2025 expenditure estimate of €114 million. It is estimated that:

• Extending Parent's Benefit by one week, from 9 to 10 weeks would result in an additional annual cost of over €16m with a new total annual cost of some €130 million.
• Extending Parent's Benefit by 43 weeks, from 9 weeks to 52 weeks would result in an additional annual cost of over €700 million with a new total annual cost of some €814 million.