The Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provide a pregnant employee with six months of paid maternity leave and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave, alongside other entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks which will be extended to two years following the birth of the child through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.The Acts include provisions for the postponement of maternity leave in the event of the hospitalisation of the child and for the termination of additional unpaid maternity leave in the event of illness of the mother.
All forms of family leave are kept under review to ensure that they are effective in supporting families and children. I recently announced my intention to bring forward proposals to allow for deferral of maternity leave where a mother falls ill during this period, in response to the issues raised by the Irish Cancer Society.
The Government is also very committed to ensuring that Members of the Oireachtas can avail of maternity leave and I have indicated my intention to bring forward legislative proposals to provide for this.
Legislative proposals for both issues will be finalised in the coming weeks and they will be brought forward together under the same legislative vehicle. Consideration is being given to identifying a suitable legislative vehicle that can enable these proposals to be advanced at an early stage.
