Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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804. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on any progress made to encourage employers to publish statistics of the take up by both genders of parental leave and flexible working; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38814/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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805. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality how she envisions the Government can encourage more employees to take parental leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38815/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 804 and 805 together.

Under the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019, an employee who is a relevant parent in respect of a child under the age 12 is entitled to 26 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child. Where a child has a disability or long-term illness, the entitlement can continue until the child is 16. A relevant parent is a parent, an adoptive parent, or a person acting in ‘loco parentis’. Both parents have an equal, separate entitlement to parental leave.

There have been significant developments in the entitlements to family leaves for working families in recent years, and this includes the aforementioned extension of the parental leave entitlements in 2019 from 18 weeks to 26 weeks, and the extension of the time period in which the leave can be taken from when the child attains the age of 8 years to when the child attains the age of 12 years.

The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 was enacted on 4 April 2023, and introduces important entitlements for workers, including leave for medical care purposes for parents of children under 12, and the right to request flexible working for parents and carers. It transposes the Work-Life Balance Directive which specifically prevents the transfer of paid leave between parents in the interests of gender equality and of encouraging fathers as well as mothers to take such leave. Otherwise, there is a risk that only mothers would take the leave, potentially creating labour market disadvantages for them and that fathers would not be encouraged to take a greater share of their caring responsibilities.

My Department is continuing work to understand the barriers to the uptake of family leaves and will bring forward legislative amendments or policy proposals where major challenges are identified. A successor to the National Strategy for Women and Girls is currently in development and any new measures to promote transparency and encourage uptake of family leaves will be considered in this context.