Written answers
Thursday, 4 December 2025
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Departmental Data
Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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356. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people in receipt of maternity benefit each year since 2020 [68645/25]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Maternity Benefit is a payment for employed women who are on Maternity Leave, and self-employed women, who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. There are 20,178 people in receipt of Maternity Benefit as of November 2025. Recipients of Maternity Benefit in the years 2020–2024 are based on December recipient numbers. My Department also published quarterly data on recipients of social welfare payments including Maternity Benefit on gov.ie/dsp/statistics.
| Year | Maternity Benefit recipients |
|---|---|
| November 2025 | 20,178 |
| 2024 | 19,379 |
| 2023 | 19,818 |
| 2022 | 19,330 |
| 2021 | 21,781 |
| 2020 | 19,661 |
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