Cautious welcome for paid parental leave scheme proposed in Report of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Future Investment in Early Years and School Age Care and Education Services
Commenting on the launch of the Report of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Future Investment in Early Years and School Age Care and Education Services by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Dr James Reilly today, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Start Strong and the National Women's Council welcome the recommended progress in relation to family leaves.
Ireland lags behind Europe on Family Leave and compares poorly to other European countries on issues such as maternity leave, paternity leave and work life balance policies. We therefore welcome the proposal to introduce a paid parental leave scheme for parents of children aged under one.
If implemented, this proposal has the potential to greatly enhance parental choice to remain as the primary care-giver of their child in the first year of life – something all the evidence shows is of great benefit to the child.
It also contains the very welcome first ever proposal to provide paid leave to fathers seeking to reconcile their work and caring responsibilities.
However, the proposal to "prepare a feasibility report for Government on the introduction of additional shared weeks of paid parental leave over a 10 year period" is an unnecessary delay in our view and will simply consign another generation of families to the unsustainable challenges currently faced in reconciling work and family life. Such a delay will be bad for children, working parents and, as all the evidence points to the business benefits of work life balance arrangements, the enterprises they work in.
We also welcome the proposal to consider the introduction of statutory entitlements to request more flexible patterns of working for parents of children aged 1-12 years.
For more on our joint proposals on Family Leaves see: http://www.familyleave.net/
Contacts:
David Joyce, ICTU
Ciairín de Buis, Start Strong
Orla O"Connor, National Women's Council
