Parent’s Benefit was first introduced in 2019 with an initial entitlement of 2 weeks per parent. By July 2023, the entitlement increased to 7 weeks per parent and as of August 2024, 9 weeks of Parent’s Benefit is available to each parent.
Since its introduction, the weekly rate of Parent’s Benefit has been increased in line with Budget announcements. Most recently, as part of Budget 2025, the weekly rate of Parent’s Benefit increased by €15, bringing the current rate to €289 per week.
The current Programme for Government includes commitment to introduce a Pay-Related Parent’s Benefit and to explore the application of a similar model to other social welfare payments. It also commits to examining the further expansion of Parent’s Leave and Benefit, as well as additional flexibilities in how this leave may be taken.
The number of people receiving a Parent's Benefit Payment in the first quarter of each year from 2022 to 2025, broken down by males and females, are provided in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Parent's Benefit recipients, by quarter.
|
Quarter
|
Female
|
Male
|
Total
|
|
2022Q1
|
10,738
|
4,822
|
15,560
|
|
2023Q1
|
13,496
|
7,093
|
20,589
|
|
2024Q1
|
12,517
|
7,466
|
19,983
|
|
2025Q1
|
17,589
|
9,529
|
27,118
|
