Local TD Kathleen Funchion says it’s “common sense” to extend maternity leave for those who gave birth during lockdown.
Parents who had babies after November 1st 2019 are to be given an extra three weeks paid leave.
However, it won’t come into effect until next year.
Sinn Fein has been critical of the proposal, with party leader Mary Lou McDonald claiming it isn’t enough for new mothers who suffered in the past few months.
Taoiseach Michael Martin defended the current plan at last night’s Dáil meeting, where Sinn Fein had a private members motion to have paid maternity leave extended by three months for women who had their babies during the pandemic.
Deputy Funchion says the government should allow mothers who’ve had a tough maternity leave during the lockdown to take some extra time off instead of forcing them to go back to work in these uncertain times:
“There is an issue with the availability of childcare and this might just give a chance for people to look at alternative arrangements, and give the sector itself a chance”.
She said “It really only opened on the 29th of June, we are only two or three weeks into that at this stage so we think it makes sense and that there’s a need for it, and as I say over the years every party has made a commitment in their election manifestos to extend maternity and paternity and parental leave”.
