Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
870. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the data on the percentage and number of men that availed of additional paternity leave in each of the years 2020 to 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14432/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra871. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the data on the percentage and number of women who availed of additional maternity leave in each of the years 2020 to 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14435/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 870 and 871 together.
There have been significant developments in entitlements for parents of working families in recent years. The Government is committed to supporting workers, including by extending paid leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their child during their earliest years.
The Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 provide a pregnant employee with 26 weeks of paid maternity leave and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave, alongside other entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks after the return to work, which have been extended to two years following the birth of the child, through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Furthermore, since 20 November 2024, employees can postpone their maternity leave if they require ongoing treatment for a serious health condition as set out in the Maternity Protection, Employment Equality and Preservation of Certain Records Act 2024.
As there is no benefit associated with the unpaid maternity leave of 16 weeks, there is currently no data available on the number of women that availed of this additional leave.
The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides the relevant parent (other than the mother of the child) with 2 weeks paid paternity leave. S.6(5) of the Act limits this entitlement in the case of multiple births to a single period of leave.
Under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019, working parents are now entitled to nine weeks of paid parent's leave for each relevant parent, to be taken in the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child. Parent's Leave is an individual separate entitlement and is non-transferable between parents.
While there is no additional paternity leave available, 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.
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 complements existing family leaves and other entitlements already in place and provides additional flexibility to ensure that parents and carers can be supported to balance their working and family lives. Under this legislation, parents and carers have a right to request flexible working.
Furthermore, the CSO first published the “Employment Analysis of Maternity and Paternity Benefits” in June 2020 with a follow up release in May 2023 as part of the CSO’s Frontier Series Outputs. CSO Frontier Series may use new methods which are under development and / or data sources which may be incomplete, for example new administrative data sources. Details on this release can be found on the CSO website. The most recent publication covers the period 2019 to 2022 and relates to those who received a benefit payment from the Department of Social Protection in the reference year. This release is currently being updated, incorporating the latest data available. The exact release date will be added to the CSO release calendar prior to publication.
This Department is continuing work to understand the barriers to the uptake of family leaves and will bring forward policy proposals where major challenges are identified. The Department is also looking at how reporting on unpaid leaves can be encouraged.
The National Strategy for Women and Girls 2025-2030 was launched 18 November 2025. The first Action Plan which will oversee monitoring and implementation is currently in development and is due to be launched early 2026. Any further changes to supports and family leave entitlements will be considered within this context.
