Written Answers. - Family Friendly Work Practices.
Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:
366
Ms Fitzgerald
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
the way in which his Department intends to mark the Family Friendly Workplace Day on 1 March 2001; the initiatives he has taken in this area; and the way in which family friendly initiatives are being implemented for the staff in his Department.
[4721/01]
To mark Family Friendly Workplace Day on 1 March 2001 my Department intends to highlight the family friendly schemes available to civil servants by distributing a reminder to the staff of my Department of the schemes available. The issue will also be placed on the agenda of the Department's Partnership Committee. In recognition of the "long hours" culture that exists in many areas throughout the Department, staff at all levels will be encouraged to go home on time on the day in question.
The family friendly initiatives available in my Department are as follows:
Flexitime – in this Department flexitime is available to the majority of officers up to the grade of higher executive officer. Officers on flexitime report for duty between 8.30 a.m. and 10 a.m. and may, subject to appropriate cover being available to the public, leave between 4 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. Up to 11.5 hours credit may be worked up in a particular flexi period and taken as leave. Officers are obliged to work the core periods which in my Department are from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Job sharing – the jobsharing scheme allows staff to apply to work for half their normal hours for a period of not less than one year.
Term time – this year for the first time in my Department, term time allows staff of my Department to take either ten or 13 weeks unpaid leave from June until the end of August. To be eligible the staff must have a child or children, up to 18 years of age, or be acting in loco parentis or be the primary carer for a person with a disability who needs care on a continuing or frequent basis.
Paternity leave – three days special leave with pay is available to fathers of children born on or after 1 January 2000. The leave may be taken up to four weeks after the birth of the child. In the case of adoption, the leave may be taken within four weeks of the date of placement.
Career breaks – career breaks may be taken from between six months and five years. Staff must have completed two years probation before they can apply. A career break may be allowed for child care or domestic reasons, educational purposes or travel abroad. A person is not allowed take up paid employment within the State. A person may take a career break of up to three years for self-employment where there is no conflict of interest with their position in the Civil Service.
Statutory entitlements such as maternity leave, adoptive leave and parental leave are also availed of by staff of my Department. In my capacity as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I have taken a number of initiatives in relation to family friendly policies.
I amended the Maternity Protection Act, 1994 and the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995 on 8 February 2001 to give effect to the budget announcement in relation to increased entitlements to maternity and adoptive leave. As a result of the amendments, entitlements to paid maternity and adoptive leave will be increased by four weeks with effect from 8 March 2001 and entitlements to unpaid maternity and adoptive leave will also be increased by four weeks with effect from that date. A father's entitlement to leave in the event of the death of the mother around the time of the birth or adoption has also been increased.
The increases in maternity leave have come about as a result of the recommendations of a working group, set up by my Department to review and improve maternity protection legislation. The working group was set up in accordance with commitments in the Government's An Action Programme for the Millennium and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, and comprised representatives of the social partners and relevant Departments and agencies. The report of the working group was presented to the social partners under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness on 25 January 2001. The working group's recommendations to increase maternity leave have been fast-tracked ahead of other recommendations to ensure that women could benefit from the increase as quickly as possible. Some of the recommendations of the working group will involve primary legislation which will be brought forward in due course.
Adoptive leave was not within the remit of the working group, but the Government decided that, in the interests of equality, the increases in maternity leave recommended by the group would also be made applicable to adoptive leave.
In accordance with a requirement under the Parental Leave Act, 1998 and a commitment in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, I will conduct a review of the operation of the Parental Leave Act, 1998, in 2001, in consultation with the social partners.
As part of an awareness raising campaign linked to Family Friendly Workplace Day, I plan to launch the report of the Working Group on the Review and Improvement of the Maternity Protection Legislation and to announce the commencement of the Review of the Parental Leave Act, 1998 on 28 February 2001.
I also plan to launch a research project by the Centre for Women's Studies, TCD which is being co-funded by the EU Commission and my Department. This research project will identify the key issues concerning the reconciliation of work and family roles, with particular emphasis on how to involve men in family and domestic activities. The research will include a focus on attitudes of men and women as workers and as parents and social policies designed to address these issues.
My Department is providing funding of £4 million under the Equality for Women Measure of the Regional Operational Programmes of the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, to develop family friendly projects in employment and the sharing of family responsibilities. Of this funding, £1.5 million has been allocated to support the work of the National Framework Committee which has been established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to develop family friendly policies at the level of the enterprise.
In the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, child care has been identified as a priority and £250 million comprising EU and Exchequer funds had been provided to my Department to develop child care provision. Under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, which I launched in April 2000, supports are available to maintain current child care service provision, stimulate new child care services and ensure that all child care services are of the highest quality. Capital grants are available to community based and private providers, staffing grants are available to eligible community groups. In October 2000, additional funding of £40 million was made available to a number of Departments for further initiatives in the child care sector, £26.5 million of which was allocated to my Department.
My Department will continue to be pro-active in the implementation of future family friendly schemes introduced by the Government.
