Extension of parental leave discriminates against single parents, Dáil hears

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman claims the Government's 'hands are tied' due to EU law and cannot make leave transferrable between parents

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman said the Family Leave Bill 2021 could not make parental leave transferrable between parents due to EU law.

The Government's extension of parental leave discriminates against single parents, the Dáil has been told.

Cork North-Central TD Thomas Gould said  because two-parent families would be entitled to five weeks' parental leave each, children of single-parents would lose out on time with their parents.

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman said the Family Leave Bill 2021 could not make parental leave transferrable between parents due to EU law, meaning the Government's "hands are tied". However, he said the "vulnerability" of single-parent families would have to be acknowledged.

"There is a clear need to support one-parent families," he said.

Mr O'Gorman said the bill was a "small recognition" from the Government to parents of children born from November 2019 of how Covid-19 has impacted parenting. He said it would remove the anomaly in the law which stopped same-sex male couples from taking adoptive parents' leave. 

He accepted, however, that there is still a "significant gap" in the law regarding surrogacy. He said he was aiming to get Ireland to the nine weeks' paid leave called for in the EU Work-Life Balance Directive.

Social Democrats spokesperson for children Jennifer Whitmore said: “While I welcome the extension of paid parental leave to five weeks, the Government needs to ramp up investment in this area as Ireland still falls far short of its European counterparts. 

"Parents are desperate for much-need certainty, particularly as Covid has meant many of them taking early parental leave to cover the gaps in childcare.

“There is an urgent need to implement in full the EU directive relating to parental leave and work-life balance and to streamline legislation, which is currently too cumbersome for families to navigate. 

"Between maternity, paternity and parental leave, there are numerous variations, which is causing a lot of unnecessary confusion as to what parents are really entitled to and when."