Catherine Connolly
Question:482. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending parental leave by two weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27949/22]
View answerTuesday, 31 May 2022
Questions (482)
Written answers
Any changes to the Parental Leave scheme would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth who has responsibility for that scheme.
Parent's Leave and Benefit are currently available for five weeks to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1 November 2019 and must be used within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption. Parent’s Benefit is paid at €250 per week - the same rate as Maternity, Paternity and Adoptive Benefits.
Provision was made in Budget 2022 to increase the number of weeks of Parent's Leave and Benefit available to eligible parents from five weeks to seven weeks from July 2022. The estimated overall cost of the increase in Parent's Benefit from five to seven weeks in 2022 is approximately €19 million for a full year.
This estimate is based on the estimated number of recipients in 2022. It should be noted that costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.