Doherty: Little demand to share maternity leave
Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has claimed there would be little demand among parents to share the current 26 weeks of paid maternity leave.
Dismissing proposals to allow mothers split maternity leave with their partners if they wish, Ms Doherty said the measure would be “regressive in nature”.
Fianna Fáil TD Lisa Chambers, who put forward the Shared Maternity Leave and Benefit Bill 2018 with her party colleague Fiona O’Loughlin, hit out Ms Doherty for her “aggressive dismissal” of the measure.
“Thrashing the proposal and then walking out [of the Dáil chamber] without listening to a single response was very insulting and her reasons for rejecting it do not stand up to scrutiny,” said Ms Chambers.
Ms Doherty recognised that some women, including the self-employed, might benefit from the proposal to share maternity leave.
“However, I would not be in favour of rushing into legislation that could have serious, detrimental implications for mothers,” she said.
“Furthermore, I am unsure as to what the level of demand is for these proposed changes. Officials can only recall one representation on this in the past two years.”
This bill would be transformative for women and help stop the discrimination in the workplace on the assumption only mothers take maternity leave, what if men were as likely? That would level the playing field and let us smash that glass ceiling! @fiannafailparty @Fiona_Kildare https://t.co/ayCkxZKaOf
— Lisa Chambers (@lichamber) November 15, 2018
She said t the bill would “dilute the security that mothers and their babies have enjoyed up to now” and said maternity leave “will become a commodity that is subject to negotiation within couples and between a woman and her employer”.
Ms Chambers said: “This legislation was drafted following conversations with countless women and mothers who, for a variety of reasons, wanted to share their maternity entitlements with their partners.
“In some instances it was for financial reasons; many self-employed mothers felt they couldn’t take the full entitlement and felt it would be easier for their partner to take the leave.”
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil have asked for briefings on the National Broadband Plan and public finances as part of the confidence and supply talks next week.
The party’s negotiating team met with Fine Gael for discussions yesterday where agriculture and education was thrashed out with department officials.
“It is a serious review and we are learning a lot, we don’t always get the chance to meet officials and go through the issues,” said one source close to the talks.
