Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 May 2024
400. Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Social Protection the annual cost of maternity benefit, paternity benefit and parents leave benefit; the initial cost estimate provided to the Minister and to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in the year the benefit was legislated for; his views on the discrepancy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21279/24]
View answerThe annual estimated costs of Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit and Parent's Benefit at the time each was introduced and the actual costs now are not directly comparable as there have been many changes to the schemes in the intervening years such as widened eligibility, extended durations and increased payments rates.
Maternity Benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions on their own insurance record. The original scheme was introduced for employees in 1970 and it was extended to include the self-employed from 9th June 1997. Until 2014, the rate of Maternity Benefit paid was based on a person’s reckonable earnings in the relevant tax year. Since 2014, the duration of entitlement has been extended from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and since October 2017 additional time has been provided in the case of premature births.
The weekly rate of payment has increased from €230 in 2014 to €274 in 2024. In 2023 there were 40,657 recipients of Maternity Benefit and it is estimated that my Department will spend approximately €280.7 million on the scheme in 2024.
The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 introduced Paternity Benefit for 2 weeks at the rate of €230 per week payable from 1 September 2016. Paternity Benefit is payable to employed and self-employed people who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It must be commenced within 26 weeks of the child's birth. On the introduction of the scheme, my Department estimated that between 30,000 to 40,000 people would qualify for the payment in a full year, at a cost of €20 million.
There were 27,111 recipients of Paternity Benefit in 2023. The current rate of payment is €274 per week and it is estimated that my Department will spend approximately €14.6 million on the scheme in 2024.
The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced two weeks of paid Parent's Leave for each parent at a rate of €245 per week to be taken in the first year after the birth or adoptive placement of a child, from November 2019. Two weeks Parent’s Benefit was estimated to cost approximately €32 million while potentially providing support to approximately 60,000 parents in a full year.
Following the commencement of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021, an additional three weeks of Parent's Leave and Benefit was available to each parent, and the period in which the leave can be taken was extended to the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child. This brought the duration of the payment to 5 weeks from April 2021. Budget 2022 provided for Parent’s Leave and Benefit to be extended from 5 weeks for each parent to 7 weeks from July 2022.
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. In 2023 there were 78,189 recipients of Parent's Benefit. The current rate of payment is €274 per week and the estimated expenditure on the scheme this year is approximately €98.7 million.
It should be noted that costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated number of recipients. Also, these figures are the scheme costs only and do not include costs to the Exchequer arising from staff substitution in the Public Sector. That is a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.
I trust this clarifies the position.
