Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 June 2026
38. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider combining maternity benefit, paternity benefit, adoptive benefit, and parent’s leave into a single-family scheme providing up to 12 months following the birth or adoption of a child; and whether such a scheme could operate on pay-related basis similar to the pay-related jobseekers’ benefit payment. [46169/26]
View answerThe Department for Children, Disability and Equality has policy and legal responsibility for all family leaves, including matters relating to transferability of leave and its duration. The Department of Social Protection has responsibility for the associated benefit.
A range of family leaves and benefits are available in the first crucial period of a child’s life. Maternity Leave and Benefit is available for 26 weeks, Paternity Leave and Benefit for two weeks and both parents can avail of nine weeks of Parent’s Leave and Benefit in the first two years following the birth of a child. In total, these supports provide up to 46 weeks of paid leave for a two-parent family.
The Programme for Government commits to introducing Pay-Related Parent's Benefit and exploring other payments where a similar model could be applied. While the initial focus is on Parent’s Benefit, the development of this scheme will help to inform the considerations around extension of a pay-related approach for other family leave benefits. My Department will draw on the learnings and operational experience from the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme to inform options for Parent's Benefit and other family leave schemes.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
