Vol. 535 No. 2
208 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will outline the position and the developing situation at EU or national level in relation to entitlements to paid or unpaid paternity leave for fathers at the birth of their child and thereafter annually or on occasion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12550/01]
There are no EU provisions giving an entitlement to either paid or unpaid paternity leave for fathers at the time of the birth of their children or thereafter and there are no plans at present to introduce such an entitlement.
There is no statutory entitlement to paternity leave at national level at present. However, the Parental Leave Act, 1998 provides an individual and non-transferable entitlement to each parent to 14 weeks' unpaid leave from work to take care of young children. The leave is in respect of each child and, in general, it must be taken before the child reaches five years of age. Certain exceptions in relation to age also apply in the case of an adopted child.
The issue of paternity leave was examined during the course of the recent review of maternity protection legislation conducted by my Department in consultation with the social partners and relevant Government Departments and agencies. The working group, which carried out this review, stated in its report that the group recognises the importance of the role of fathers at the time of and immediately after childbirth. The group, without commitment from any party, agreed that the issue of paternity leave would be considered in the context of the forthcoming review of the Parental Leave Act, 1998, or such other review as may be appropriate.
Section 28 of the Parental Leave Act provides for a review of its operation not earlier than two years and not later than three years after the commencement of the Act, i.e. between 3 December 2000 and 3 December 2001. This requirement is incorporated in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness which contains a commitment to carry out this review in 2001 in consultation with the social partners. I announced the commencement of this review on 28 February 2001. A working group comprising the social partners, relevant Government Departments and the Equality Authority has since been established by my Department to review and assess the provisions of the Act in the light of its operation. The issue of paternity leave will be considered in the context of that review. It is not possible at this stage to pre-empt the outcome of the review.
