The Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provide a pregnant employee with six months of paid maternity leave and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave, alongside other entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks. These entitlements do not, however, apply to those who do not meet the definition of employee under the Acts.
All forms of family leave are kept under review to ensure that they are effective in supporting families and children. I recently announced my intention to bring forward proposals to allow for deferral of maternity leave where a mother falls ill during this period, in response to the issues raised by the Irish Cancer Society. The Government is also very committed to ensuring that Members of the Oireachtas can avail of maternity leave and I have indicated my intention to bring forward legislative proposals to provide for this.
However, other than the above and mindful of significant new leave entitlements brought forward this year through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, there are no plans to modify entitlements to maternity leave further at this time.
