Paid paternity and paid parental leave are crucial to share care work more equally

Published: Wednesday, January 21, 2015

In response to Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Minister of State for Equality’s, comments on RTE Prime Time yesterday, NWCI welcomes the government’s plan to introduce two weeks paid paternity leave but highlights that it will be equally important to introduce paid parental leave.

Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) said,

“NWCI has been long campaigning for the introduction of better leave entitlements for families of children in Ireland.  Currently Ireland is the only EU member state that provides no period of well-paid leave. Our policies are based on the fact that women are still primarily responsible for the care of young children. We therefore welcome the government decision to introduce two weeks paid paternity leave for fathers. This will allow parents of new born babies to share care responsibilities more equally during the first weeks. “

She continued,

“In addition to paid paternity leave, it will be equally important to introduce paid parental leave. Currently, the take-up of parental leave in Ireland is extremely low by international standards. The main reason for this is that it is unpaid, unlike many other countries which have different combinations of paid and unpaid leave. NWCI calls on the Government to incrementally introduce paid parental leave up to 26 weeks, so that parents, mothers and fathers, will have a real option of taking care of their child during the first year."

She added,

“As part of the Family Leave Bill, NWCI is also calling on the Government to introduce supports for women who are breastfeeding and returning to work after six months.”

She concluded,

“The reconciliation of work and family life is central to promoting greater equality in society. The forthcoming Family Leave Bill is a unique opportunity to ensure a greater sharing of care responsibilities between women and men. “

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