Vol. 502 No. 1
94 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has completed his review of the recommendations of the final report of the Commission on the Family as they relate to his Department; the plans, if any, he has to implement those recommendations; the steps, if any, he has made in achieving this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7231/99]
The report of the Commission on the Family sets out some 44 recommendations of which one relates specifically to the issue of parental leave. The commission recommends in the first part of recommendation no. 18 that the Government bring forward proposals for the introduction of three months' parental leave, in line with the terms of the EU directive. I am happy to inform the Deputy that this has been implemented. The Parental Leave Act, 1998, came into operation on 3 December 1998 and gives parents an entitlement to 14 weeks unpaid leave from work to care for their children.
My Department is currently chairing the Interdepartmental Committee on Childcare which was established by Government to evaluate, cost and prioritise the child care proposals in the report of the Commission on the Family, along with those in the Action Programme for the Millennium and the reports of the Expert Working Group on Childcare and the National Forum for Early Childhood Education. The committee is required to report to Government within six months on these issues.
