Parental leave law only aids wealthy - Greens

The Government was accused of being "uncaring and plain stupid" in dealing with parental leave legislation. Eamon Ryan (Green Party, Dublin South) said the issue was being addressed in a "threadbare, bare minimum, bargain-basement manner that reflects its general attitude to how we raise children in this country".

Speaking during a debate on the Parental Leave Bill, which he described as "limited and narrow", the Green Party deputy said it showed clearly "how out of touch, uncaring and plain stupid this Government is in its continued desire to serve vested interests rather than the general public interest for the betterment and development of our society".

The Bill allows for 14 weeks of unpaid parental leave to be taken for children up to the age of eight or 16 where a child has a disability. The provisions provide for leave to be taken in two tranches of a minimum of six weeks each and it also allows the leave to be taken by parents who are adopting and have a child in their care but have not yet received an adoption order.

Mr Ryan said, however, that "the Bill divides our society by not allowing for paid parental leave, as exists in so many other European countries, who do not seem to have a problem in making such a provision. The Government is treating the children of this country differently. It is saying to the wealthy parents of children, 'Yes, by all means, you can have parental leave because you can afford it'. If parents are poor and cannot afford to take parental leave because of a loss of salary, the Government is saying, 'Sorry this is not for you'."

During the debate Pat Carey (FF, Dublin North West) said "paternity leave is very hit or miss in Ireland. It is widely available within the public sector, but limited in terms of the number of days for which it can be taken, usually three days. It is good that it exists but we should consider some form of paid paternity leave for all workers."

Catherine Murphy (Ind, Kildare North) said the "most telling lines" were in the Bill's explanatory memorandum that, "as parental leave is unpaid, this cost will not be significant. There will be benefits for employers and industry." Ms Murphy said this showed it was not a family-friendly initiative. While it was a step in the right direction, the Bill had "quite a negative feel to it".