Unions have welcomed reports that parents' leave will eventually be extended to nine weeks for mothers and fathers, in line with Ireland’s commitments under an EU directive.
Each parent of a child born on or before 1st November 2019 is currently eligible to take two weeks’ parent’s leave in the child’s first year. It attracts a parent’s benefit of €245 a week for workers with sufficient PRSI contributions.
Parent’s leave is different from parental leave, which is unpaid.
The amount of parents' leave, which is also available to adoptive parents, is to increase to five weeks from next April, when the period in which the leave can be taken will also increase to two years.
Earlier this week, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) noted that children’s minister Roderic O'Gorman had been reported as saying that the leave would later be extended to nine weeks. Its equality officer, David Joyce, noted that this was the minimum requirement of an EU directive, due to be fully transposed into Irish law by August 2022.
But he outlined concerns at the low take-up of both paternity leave and parents' leave, due to the relatively low payment of €245 a week and most employers’ reluctance to top up the benefit. Some 50% of fathers don’t take the two weeks’ paternity leave they are due.
A recent spending review by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) found that neither the public service nor most private sector employers topped up the payment. “With average weekly net earnings in the private sector over 2.5 times the payment, this is an issue that will have to dealt with,” said Joyce.
Leave
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Who gets it?
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How long?
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Is it paid?
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Maternity leave
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Female employees
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26 weeks and up to 16 unpaid weeks
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Yes, Maternity Benefit is paid for 26 weeks
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Adoptive leave
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Adoptive mothers, Men adopting alone
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24 weeks and up to 16 unpaid weeks
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Yes, Adoptive Benefit is paid for 24 weeks
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Paternity leave
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New parents of children under 6 months of age (but not the mother of the child)
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2 weeks
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Yes, Paternity Benefit is paid for 2 weeks
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Parental leave
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Parents and guardians of children under 12
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26 weeks
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No, it’s unpaid
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Parent’s leave
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Parents of children under 1 year of age (or in first year of adoption) - this will increase to 2 years from April 2021
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2 weeks (5 weeks from April 2021)
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Yes, Parent’s Benefit is paid for 2 weeks
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SOURCE: Citizens Information.
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