Thank you so much to everyone who supported our #EveryWeekCounts campaign! The three-week extension of paid Parent’s Leave finally came into effect with the passing of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill on 24th March 2021.
Once signed into law by the President, the legislation will allow each parent of a child born or adopted on or after 1 November 2019 to take up to five weeks leave during the first two years of their child’s life. The Minister has indicated that the leave will be available to take in April 2021.
This positive outcome is very much down to the huge support of our e-action campaign, with almost 4,500 emails sent to TDs, urging them to take immediate action in delivering the three weeks additional paid Parent's Leave. Your support of this e-action campaign has helped to make a real difference to many women and young families across Ireland!
Although the extra three weeks of paid Parent's Leave will undoubtedly make a difference to many parents and young families, we are disappointed that lone parents were not supported in this Bill, nor was increasing the Parent’s Benefit payment or the need for paid Parental Leave for parents of older children. These were key recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration.
We want to make sure that taking leave is a realistic option for all families, and will be calling on the government to address these issues as a priority for Budget 2022.
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Once again, thank you for your support!’
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