Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
901. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1093 of 17 February 2026, if she will consider a public consultation plan regarding the Action Plan for the National Strategy to allow parents to share parental leave allocations between each other; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14983/26]
View answerThe new National Strategy for Women and Girls 2025-2030 was launched on the 18th November 2025, and sets out a broad range of objectives aimed at reducing inequalities between men and women, including the disparities in caring responsibilities.
This whole-of-government plan aims to level the playing field for women and girls of all ages and backgrounds by eliminating all forms of discrimination against them, building upon the progress made by its predecessor strategy.
Implementation of the Strategy will be guided by two Action Plans, the first of which will be adopted by Government in early 2026 and will cover the period 2026-2028. Work on the first of these two Action Plans is nearing completion. The work on this action plan is over seen by an Inter Departmental Committee.
As part of the development of the National Strategy for Women and Girls, the Department undertook a thorough consultation process. The consultation included an online survey, public in-person consultations, online consultations with marginalised and hard to reach groups, and a National Youth Assembly on Gender Equality – ‘What does Equality look like in the lives of Girls and Boys’.
The first Action Plan will include actions to support working families in balancing the competing demands of family and work. It will examine the extension of Parent’s Leave and Benefit and additional flexibilities.
There have been significant developments in entitlements for parents of working families in recent years.
Under the Parental Leave Acts, 26 weeks unpaid leave can be taken by an employee who is a relevant parent to take care of a child. The upper age limit of the eligible child has been increased in 2019 to the age of 12 or of 16, where the child has a disability or long-term illness which allows a parent more time in which to avail of the extended leave entitlement. A relevant parent is a parent, an adoptive parent, or a person acting in ‘loco parentis’.
It should be noted that the legislation only sets out the minimum entitlement to parental leave. Depending on an individual’s contract of employment, they may have more extensive rights to parental leave, as employers have the option to offer more than the entitlement set out in the legislation.
Both parents have an equal, separate entitlement to parental leave. Where both parents work for the same employer and the employer agrees, one parent can transfer 14 weeks of their parental leave entitlement to the other parent.
