Mattie McGrath on Family Leave Bill, Adoptive Leave and TUSLA

Thank you, Les Cancola. I do am delighted to get some time here to speak on this bill here this evening. And, you know, there are many areas, the family leave, build, there are many, many parts that need to be, you know, proper, that we would have proper later station, and indeed it's too late for a lot of people. And, you know, it's interesting, the flexible working patterns that have been here, and research across country comparison of parental leave shows that in Ireland there remains a substantial gap between the end of leave, including emerging both paid and unpaid leave entitlements, and early childhood education care entitlements as well. So, we must have a broad sense of, you know, facilities that will suit both, a shared parental leave, both for the both parents, and it's very important also, as I said, that we look at our European counterparts, and there's a case given that the levels of attendance at formal services for children under the ages of three, and in line with the average seen throughout the European member states. And we know how important it is, and how, I suppose, the bringing of a child into the world is such a huge step, and both parents are needed, and will be needed, and are always in supportive role, and where it hit the back, I suppose, in olden times was the moments, it always only got the leave, and the men got none, or the parents, but now both parents will have to. And for adopted parents, especially, I think it's vital that we have a situation where they can get, where they can get, under this bill, they'll be able to have a proper entitlement to the parent leave. And the bill, as I said, says to amend the Adoptive Leave Act 1995, to enable couples, regardless of sex, who have jointly adopted, to choose which member or couple avails of the adoptive leave. And also amends the Payment's Leave Benefit Act of 2019, to increase the duration of Payment's Leave, as well as the associated entitlement to Payment's Benefits from two to five weeks. And that's very important, because, goodness knows, you know, time flies so fast, and it can be so, you know, tiring, and there can be difficulties with Britain, there can be issues, so they need that kind of time and space. It also amends the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, to increase the number of ordinary board members of the TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency, from seven to nine. Now, I have been very critical of TUSLA in the past, and I still am critical in many aspects about TUSLA, and I don't know what increasing the board members from, by two, from seven to nine, will get the kind of changes that are needed there. And just, I know it's in the bill, but to digress a small bit, I think that the whole inception and conception, and indeed, the bringing into the world of this TUSLA organization, and I think it was just, it was rushed, it was just literally kind of hiving off of certain sections of the HSE to set this up, this Child and Family Agency. And indeed, it has a lot to learn, and there can be many, many, many, there are many, many shortcomings, and I have cases on a regular basis, families are very dissatisfied, and I also have cases, you know, often contacted by Gary Sheecona, who end up at the babysitting service on weekends when TUSLA aren't available, and they're told that cases may be at three o'clock or half, three of a Friday evening, and they have to get involved, and that's rough justice, and it's not proper. So, there are areas in TUSLA that need to be looked at. The Family Leave Bill 2021 then follows on from the General Scheme of Payants Leave and Benefits Amendments Bill 2020, which was thankfully subject to pre-legative scrutiny, because we know through last year, the Joint Committee of Roxas, Committee of Children, Disability and Equality, in February 21, many pieces of legislation, and we've been constantly asked the Business Committee to have them without pre-legative scrutiny, and thankfully this wasn't one of them, because it's too serious and too important, and pre-legative scrutiny is vital. While the Family Leave Bill 2021 provides for changes to the Parental Leave and Benefit Act 2019, the name change to the Family Leave Bill 2021 arises due to the inclusion of the bill, including the bill, of measures to amend the Adoptive Leave Act 1995. I suppose the background means that to have the policies that are intended to both start to support gender equality. There are also important policy instruments for supporting child, maternal and paternal health and wellbeing, birth rates, and various labour market outcomes, such as increased women's participation in the labour market, and reduced gender pay gaps. Yes, I think that's very important, because, you know, we know in childcare, especially, it's a very female-oriented, you know, profession, and I'm chairperson of a board myself, looking after a childcare, sorry what, chairperson of it, I'm not any longer, but I was involved in the setup as well, and there are lots of issues there, but we must also be ever cognizant of, when we're passing legislation like this, and it looks fine and dandy, but we must respect the employer's perspective, and we must look at where they're coming from, and as an employer myself, mainly because of the business, it's mainly with, you know, male workers, but we must look at the impact that these legislation will have on the ability of employers to, first of all, to abide by it, it's better to have a carrot and stick and encouragement rather than regulation to make them do so. So, it's very important that we have, again, like other bills, that we have some assessment as to how it's bedding in and bedding down, and, you know, while the pre-led scrutiny looks at one end, but we must have a post-legislative, and Deputy Pengell had very important amendments into another bill here before we broke for two weeks ago, looking at, you know, time-sensitive reviews of legislation and the impact of the legislation, and on this bill, I think that will be ever necessary as well, because we need to see how it's bedding in, how employers can cope with it, it's one thing in the public service, they are able to, you know, it's not their funds, it's the public purse, but for small employers, especially, and small businesses, you know, they can have unnecessary and unintended impacts and consequences. Go ra ma ha, go ra hand over to Deputy Colin. Thank you very much.