Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 May 2022
139. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost to fix the anomaly in the legislation in order that women can defer their maternity leave while undergoing cancer treatment or any serious illness. [25219/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has policy and legislative responsibility for Maternity Leave. Any changes to the legislation would be a matter for that Minister.
As Minister for Social Protection, I have responsibility for the associated Maternity Benefit which is paid at a weekly flat rate of €250 for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution and other conditions. In 2021, the estimated total cost of Maternity Benefit was €267 million which was paid in respect of almost 43,400 claims.
If a person becomes ill while on maternity leave, their leave from work due to sickness is treated in the same way as any other sick leave from work and they may be eligible for illness benefit during that period.
A deferral of Maternity Benefit would not in itself increase the costs on that scheme as the same number of weeks would be payable to a person. However, the combined time that a person would then be in receipt of Illness Benefit and Maternity Benefit would be longer than at present and that is where additional costs arise. It is not known how many women would avail of such a postponement in a given year and therefore it is not possible to estimate the cost of any such change.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
