Kathleen Funchion Questions Delay to Parental Leave Extension

I am just taking this on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Louise O'Reilly. So, Minister, it is to ask yourself the reason the extension to maternity leave is not being introduced until April 2021, as opposed to the immediate introduction post-budget 2021 or January 2021? Thanks. I am pleased to confirm that in order to support parents of children born during the strict lockdown measures, the government intends to extend parents' leave from two weeks to five weeks for each parent of all children born or adopted on or after 1 November 2019. The government also intends to extend the period within which parents' leave can be taken up until that child turns two years or, in the case of an adoption, two years after the adoption placement date of the child. This extension will apply to parents who may have already availed of their existing entitlements. Heads of a bill to this effect to make these changes are currently being drafted in my department and I intend to bring this legislation to the Cabinet on Tuesday for approval. Payments of parent benefit is a matter for the Minister for Social Protection. I understand there will be some adjustments needed to the relevant IT systems within her department and some time will be taken in order those changes be made. So, the estimated time scale for the necessary updates being put in place to the pay systems is April 2021. However, I am examining whether it may be possible for parents' leave to be taken in advance of those changes and the benefits claimed retrospectively once the legislation has been enacted. I will be taking advice from Parliamentary Council to ensure that it is possible to draft the legislation in this way. I will ensure that parents are fully informed of their entitlements in this regard as soon as possible. Myself, the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Public Expenditure on the form, we have met and discussed this issue with a view to progressing it as quickly as possible. The extension to parents' leave and benefit follows a number of advancements in parents' leave in recent years, including the introduction of parents' leave and benefit in 2019 and the extension of unpaid parental leave to 26 weeks in September of this year for a child under 12 years old. As part of the same legislation that is going to deal with the issue of parents' leave, I will also be bringing proposals on adoptive leave. This will allow all adopting couples, whether same-sex or opposite sex, to have the right to select which of them would be the qualified adopter for the purposes of taking adoptive leave and benefit. This is an important provision which was committed to in the programme for government. The proposed adoptive leave proposal will enable married male same-sex couples adopting couples to be eligible for adoptive leave. As currently stands, the Adoptive Leave Act of 2005 only allows an adopting mother to take adoptive leave. The new provisions will enable the adopting mother or the adopting father to be eligible to take adoptive leave once the choice has been made by the couple. Thank you, Minister. Now, Deputy Function. Thanks, Minister. First of all, I do welcome any extension in parental leave, maternity leave, as a parent myself, although I think my children are probably past that stage, but it is welcome. I mean, we did see a number of calls, very genuine calls during the COVID pandemic for an extension, a once-off, even emergency sort of extension to maternity leave for very valid reasons. People trying to juggle childcare, getting back to work in terms of the pandemic, and people who, I suppose, felt robbed of certain time in the early years, particularly maybe with some extended family. So it would have been fantastic if this had been able to be introduced right after the budget. And I just want to ask two sort of clarification points. Are you saying that you're hoping that it might be able to be brought in in January and kind of dealt with retrospectively? Maybe I'm understanding that incorrectly. And I'll ask my second point then in the next kind of part. Thanks. I'm not sure if the other deputies are in the room. Deputy Minaghan? Deputy McAuliffe? No? Okay. Minister. Thanks. Thanks, Keown Court. I think Deputy McAuliffe is in PAC at the moment, so I think he gave his apologies. The proposal is that we can't grant the additional leave until the legislation is passed. So once the legislation is passed, the leave can be granted. There is, I suppose, a technical issue as regards the arrangement for the payment, the payment of the benefit, and obviously the Department of Social Protection. It is under a lot of pressure at the moment with the COVID payments. They're doing a huge amount more than they would normally have done. So, A, we're going to try and speed that process up so the benefit can be provided quickly. But once the legislation is passed, we're going to try and make it possible that someone can take the leave once the legislation is passed, and retrospectively then be able to claim the benefit, the payment back, once the benefit issue has been sorted. So when I bring the legislation through the House, I'll be able to provide more clarity on that. It's just to, I suppose, allow this leave be taken as quickly as possible. Thank you, Minister. Deputy? Thanks, Minister. So the other point of clarification I'm wondering is, are you saying then that once a child is under the age of two, like let's say somebody is due to return from their maternity leave at the start of this month, at the start of December, but their child is obviously not two yet, are they able to maybe sometime next year take that additional leave, or is that not an option? Because the reason I ask that point is, while that would be welcome, for a lot of people, when you're trying to organise childcare, and when you're also trying to organise your own job, and depending on what work you're doing, it can be very difficult. You know, you kind of take your maternity leave, a lot of people will take some unpaid leave, and they will take some parental leave, because it's sort of all taken together. You know, because that really is, in reality, the best way for people to organise it. It can be difficult, if you have a childcare place, to kind of dip out of that childcare place then for a number of weeks parental leave. That's why people tend to try and take it together in a block. So I'm wondering, are you saying that, for example, just to give you that, if somebody was to go, we started back to work December 1st, but their child is, let's say, one, can they take that in the next year? Thank you, Deputy. Thank you, Deputy. Thanks, Minister. Deputy, the, either the three weeks, the extra three weeks leave for parents who maybe had their child during the last year, or the full five weeks leave for new parents from children taking forth, that can only be taken once the legislation is passed. So we have to get the legislation passed first. But once the legislation is passed, if a parent maybe took their two weeks original parents leave in January of this year, they will be able to take the additional three weeks leave in the forthcoming year. So it is provided to make sure that parents who had children during the lockdown period were only able to avail of two weeks leave at that period, will be now able to enjoy the additional three weeks leave. Good. Thank you,켕 Fritzman. I need to pass it on. Thank you. That's when I gotbacks. Tell me about that. Thank you. I will wake my children like Australia only a little bit prior to my parents.