Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 April 2017
146. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Social Protection the annual cost of increasing parental leave benefits by one week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks, six weeks, seven weeks, eight weeks, nine weeks and ten weeks, respectively. [19104/17]
View answerParents have an entitlement to parental leave which is unpaid but there is no provision under current legislation for paid parental leave. Since 8 March 2013 the amount of parental leave available for each child amounts to a total of 18 working weeks per child. Both parents have an equal separate entitlement to parental leave.
There is a commitment in the Programme for Partnership Government (PfG) to increase paid leave for parents for the first year of a child’s life. Work has commenced to explore the options available with discussions taking place between officials from the Department of Justice and Equality and my Department.
