Extended parental leave will support working families and improve work-life balance – FF

        - FF will be facilitating the passing of Parental Leave Bill in Seanad Éireann later today-

Fianna Fáil Seanad Group Leader, Senator Catherine Ardagh has said that employees parental leave entitlements in Ireland must be improved for families to meet the needs of their children.

A bill to extend unpaid parental leave for parents to six months will be brought to second stage in Seanad later this afternoon. The Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill increases unpaid leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks to be taken over the lifetime of children up to the age of 12.

The Crumlin based Senator said, “Parents must balance a number of responsibilities and this can be pressurising to effectively manage. By extending access to leaves of absence in order to care for their children, we can help relieve some of that pressure to lead a healthier, more balanced life.

“The extension of parental leave has the potential to address long standing issues regarding the underrepresentation of women in the workforce nationwide by providing for more suitable and flexible work arrangements.

“Cross party support is crucial to ensure that this legislation is amended and that Ireland’s parental leave entitlements are brought in line with the European standard. To date, employees parental leave rights in Ireland have been among the lowest across Europe and that must change.

Senator Ardagh concluded, “My party colleagues and I are happy to facilitate the passing of this important bill at second stage by using our Private Members Business in the Seanad later today.”