Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 February 2026
15. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the average waiting time in the last five years to award maternity benefit; paternity benefit; parents benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15027/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaternity Benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women, who are eligible for Maternity Leave. Paternity Benefit is a payment made for 2 weeks to employed and self-employed relevant parents who are eligible for Paternity Leave. Parent’s Benefit was introduced in November 2019. It provides each parent with nine weeks of non-transferrable leave to be taken within two years of the birth or adoption of a child and is available to employed and self-employed persons who are eligible for Parent’s Leave.
The current rate of payment for each of these schemes is €299 per week, as announced in Budget 2026.
The average number of weeks to award for each of these schemes has remained steady over the last five years. The average weeks to award for Maternity Benefit in each of the years 2021 to 2025 was 6 weeks. For Paternity Benefit, the average weeks to award was also six weeks in each of these years. For Parent’s Benefit, the average weeks to award was 1 week in each of these years.
In 2025, my Department received almost 43,000 applications for Maternity Benefit, over 30,000 applications for Paternity Benefit and almost 94,000 applications for Parent’s Benefit.
In 2021, my Department received over 46,000 Maternity Benefit applications, almost 29,000 Paternity Benefit applications and almost 52,000 Parent’s Benefit applications. This represents an increase of 80% on the number of applications received for Parent’s Benefit between 2021 and 2025, while the number of applications for Maternity Benefit has fallen by 8%, and the number of applications for Parent’s Benefit has risen by 5%.
