Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 16 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 5

Written Answers. - Parental Leave.

Seán Ryan

Ceist:

192 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the allowance, if any, which will be given to parents of children born before 3 June 1996 to take parental leave under the new Parental Leave Act, 1998. [28079/98]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

There is no entitlement to parental leave in respect of children born before 3 June 1996.

The Parental Leave Act, 1998, which came into operation on 3 December 1998 transposes the EU Directive on Parental Leave (96/34/EC) into Irish law. The Act applies only to parents of children born on or after 3 June 1996 or adopted on or after that date. The leave must be taken before the child is five years, subject to a certain modification in the case of an adopted child.

The directive sets down parameters for parental leave but it left much to the discretion of member states.

The directive does not specify any form of retrospection in respect of parental leave. Granting the right to parental leave in respect of children under the maximum age limit who were born before 3 June 1996 would mean that parents of children now aged three or four would seek to take their leave before the child reaches the age of five, which would mean a large demand for parental leave in the initial years of the scheme's operation.

In the context of my Department's consultations with the social partners in accordance with a commitment under Partnership 2000, IBEC wanted a more restrictive system of parental leave than is provided for in the Act. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has argued that the directive provided that all children under the age limit set by member states were eligible for the leave. In an effort to achieve a balanced approach on the matter between, on the one hand, the concerns of employers regarding a large demand for parental leave in the initial years of the scheme's operation which might arise if full retrospection were granted and, on the other hand, the expectations of parents with young children, it was decided that entitlement to parental leave should be given to parents of children born on or after 3 June 1996 the date on which the directive was adopted by the Council of the European Union.