I move:
That Dáil Éireann approve the draft order entitled:
Maternity Protection Act, 1994 (Extension of Periods of Leave) Order, 2001, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on the 31st day of January 2001.
That Dáil Éireann approve the draft order entitled:
Adoptive Leave Act, 1995 (Extension of Periods of Leave) Order, 2001, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on the 31st day of January 2001.
These orders provide for an extension to maternity and adoptive leave which attracts payment of four weeks and an extension to additional unpaid maternity and adoptive leave of four weeks. These orders will implement the budget announcement of 6 December 2000 to extend periods of maternity and adoptive leave. The effect of these orders is to increase maternity leave which attracts payment to 18 weeks and additional unpaid leave to eight weeks. Adoptive leave attracting payment will increase to 14 weeks and additional unpaid leave to eight weeks.
There have been major changes in society and to the make-up of the labour force due to Ireland's unprecedented rate of economic growth. With the growth in the economy, more and more young mothers are staying in the workforce. In 1994, the female labour force participation rate was 35.7%. According to latest CSO figures, it is now 49.4% . Furthermore, the participation rate for women aged between 15 and 45 years, roughly corresponding to childbearing years, is 61.5%.
The change in the composition of the workforce brings with it a necessary change of attitude. Our focus should not merely be to entice women into the labour force. We should provide workplace conditions that value their contribution. The whole area of maternity protection, in creating an environment which permits women to be fully integrated into the workforce while valuing their childbearing role, has become hugely relevant.
There is a growing demand for child care places. The difficulty for parents in accessing high quality affordable child care for babies under one year old is particularly acute. The proposed increases in maternity and adoptive leave will contribute towards an alleviation of this serious problem.
I have introduced many initiatives in the equality area and on family friendly policies since I came into office in 1997. These orders are the result of the recommendations of a working group established by my Department to review and improve maternity protection legislation. The working group was established in accordance with commitments in An Action Programme for the Millennium and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. It comprised representatives of the social partners and relevant Departments and agencies. Adoptive leave was not discussed by the working group, but the Government decided that, in the interests of equity, the increases in maternity leave recommended by the group would also be made applicable to adoptive leave.
The orders to increase maternity and adoptive leave are part of a larger package of recommendations agreed by the working group on the review and improvement of maternity protection legislation. The working group's recommendation to increase maternity leave has been fast-tracked ahead of the other recommendations to ensure women can benefit from the increase as quickly as possible. The report of the working group will be published later this month.
Many of the recommendations will involve primary legislation. There will be ample opportunity to discuss issues surrounding the area of maternity protection when I publish legislation implementing other recommendations.
I am empowered under the Maternity Protection Act, 1994, with the consent of my colleagues, the Ministers for Finance and Social, Community and Family Affairs, to increase by order maternity leave which attracts payment and unpaid maternity leave. I have a similar power under the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995. The Acts also require a resolution to be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas before the orders can be signed into law.
The Minister for Finance announced on 6 December 2000 that the increased entitlements would apply from early April 2001. Most increases provided for in the annual Social Welfare Bill apply from April, or somewhat later. Following the budget announcement, my officials looked into the possibility of applying the maternity and adoptive leave increases not only to women who commence maternity or adoptive leave on or after early April, but also to women who go on leave prior to that date. The issue was examined in conjunction with officials from the Departments of Finance and Social, Community and Family Affairs and the Attorney General's office.
It is essential that the orders comply with the parent Acts. Under both the Maternity Protection Act, 1994, and the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995, a person taking maternity or adoptive leave must give four weeks' notice to their employer of taking such leave. The Attorney General has advised me that in view of the notice requirements under both Acts it would not be possible to have the orders extend the period of maternity or adoptive leave to those persons who could not comply with the notice requirements of the parent Acts. Any attempt to make the orders retrospective could be deemed to adversely affect the rights of employers and would be open to challenge. It is, therefore, necessary for me to provide that the orders will take effect four weeks after they are signed into law to comply with the four week notice requirements under both Acts.
These increases in maternity and adoptive leave are not merely a matter of the State paying out extra weeks of maternity and adoptive benefit. They will have a major impact on employers in many ways, for example, the need to replace employees for a longer period than expected and in some cases contractual obligation in respect of payment. A balance between the rights of employees and employers is contained in the parent Acts. We must respect this balance in making the orders under those Acts.
As Members can see, I was constrained by the notice requirements under the Acts in terms of how soon I could implement the budget announcement. My aim is to implement the increase as far in advance of 2 April as possible while complying with the parent Acts. The passing of a resolution in the House today and a similar one in the Seanad later this week would mean that I would be in a position, together with the Ministers for Finance and Social, Community and Family Affairs, to sign the orders into law immediately. The extended periods of maternity and adoptive leave, which attract payment, will, therefore, apply to persons commencing such leave in early March instead of 2 April.
Furthermore, the entitlement to unpaid leave will apply to any person who has more than four weeks maternity or adoptive leave left on the date the order is signed into law. This is because the notice requirements in the parent Acts in relation to unpaid leave are different from those for paid leave. The revised entitlement to unpaid leave will apply to persons who went on maternity leave from end November 2000.
There are three types of maternity and adoptive leave: first, leave which attracts payment; second, unpaid leave; and, third, leave for fathers in the event of the death of the mother within a certain period of the birth or adoption placement.
Article 2 of both orders relates to the commencement dates. It provides that the increased entitlement to maternity and adoptive leave which attracts payment will apply to women who commence such leave four weeks after the signing of the order into law.
The situation is somewhat different in relation to unpaid leave. Article 2 of both orders provides that the increased entitlement to unpaid leave will apply to any person who commences additional unpaid maternity or adoptive leave four weeks after the orders are signed into law. Article 2 of both orders also provides for a commencement date which complies with the notice requirements of the parent Acts in relation to fathers who take leave in the event of the death of the mother within a certain period of the birth or the adoption placement.
Articles 1 and 3 of both orders are standard technical provisions. Article 4 of the maternity leave order extends the period of maternity leave under section 8(1) of the parent Act from 14 to 18 weeks. This is the period of maternity leave which attracts a payment from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs.
Article 5 of the maternity leave order amends section 13(2) of the parent Act. The subsection provides for an entitlement to maternity leave when a confinement occurs four weeks or more before the expected date and before the employee has gone on maternity leave. Article 5 extends this entitlement from 14 to 18 weeks. This ties in this section with the overall increased entitlement under the order.
Article 6 of the maternity leave order provides that the period of additional unpaid maternity leave under section 14(1) of the parent Act will be extended to eight weeks. Article 7 of the maternity leave order amends section 16 of the parent Act which covers leave for fathers in the event of the death of the mother after confinement. The mother must be survived by the baby. Article 7 extends the period within which the father is entitled to leave in the event of the death of the mother and the periods of leave to which the father is entitled in line with the increases in maternity leave.
Article 4 of the adoptive leave order extends the period of adoptive leave under section 6 of the parent Act from ten to 14 weeks. This is the period of adoptive leave which attracts a payment from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs.
Article 5 of the adoptive leave order extends the period of additional unpaid leave under section 8(1) of the parent Act from four to eight weeks. Article 6 of the adoptive leave order extends the period of leave to which a father would be entitled in the event of the death of the adopting mother to a maximum of 14 weeks. Article 7 of the adoptive leave order extends the period of additional unpaid leave to which a father would be entitled in the event of the death of an adopting mother to a maximum of eight weeks.
Article 8 of the adoptive leave order amends section 12(1) of the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995, which sets out arrangements for the termination of adoptive leave or additional adoptive leave in the event of the termination of an adoption placement before the end of the period of leave to which the employee is entitled under the Act. I commend the orders to the House.