Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2024
32. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will allocate funding to extend paid parental benefit to cover at least the first year of a child’s life; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18330/24]
View answerParent’s Benefit is a payment for employed people, who are on Parent’s Leave from work, and self-employed people who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. Currently, seven weeks Parent's Leave and Benefit is available to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1 November 2019. The leave and benefit must be availed of within two years of the child's birth or adoption.In 2024, it is estimated that my Department will spend in excess of €98.7 million on Parent’s Benefit in respect of an average of 6,909 recipients per week.In line with the EU Work-Life Balance Directive, and as provided for in Budget 2024, Parent’s Leave and Benefit will be increased by an additional two weeks to nine weeks per parent from August 2024. When the current durations of Maternity, Paternity and Parent’s Benefit are combined this adds to 42 weeks of paid leave for a two-parent family. This will increase to 46 weeks from August 2024.Any decision to further extend the period of Parent’s Leave for employees is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, who has policy and legal responsibility for Parent's Leave. An extension of this leave would require careful consideration and consultation with relevant stakeholders. Any further extension of Parent's Benefit would have cost implications and could only be considered in a Budgetary context. The estimated annual cost of extending Parent’s Benefit by an additional 6 weeks to bring the total number of weeks paid leave for a two-parent family to 52 weeks is €84.6 million. These estimates are based on a full year and on the number of recipients in 2023. These estimates do not reflect any additional costs which may be incurred by employers who provide substitution or salary top-ups.It should be noted that this costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated number of recipients. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
