PARENT’S LEAVE AND BENEFIT ACT 2019

“Chapter 11B

Parent’s Benefit

Interpretation

61F.(1) In this Chapter—

‘Act of 1995’ means the Adoptive Leave Act 1995;

‘Act of 2010’ means the Adoption Act 2010;

‘Act of 2019’ means the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019;

‘adopting mother’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1995;

‘certificate of placement’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 13 of the Act of 1995;

‘day of placement’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2019;

‘declaration of eligibility and suitability’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2010;

‘parent’s leave’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 5(1) of the Act of 2019;

‘relevant day’ means the first day for which parent’s benefit is claimed;

‘relevant parent’, in relation to a child—

• (a) in the case of an employed contributor, has the same meaning as it has in section 2(1) of the Act of 2019, and

• (b) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment, means a person who is—

  • (i) in the case of a child who is, or is to be, adopted—

    • (I) the adopting mother or sole male adopter of the child,

    • (II) the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of the adopting mother or sole male adopter of the child, or

    • (III) where the child is, or is to be adopted jointly by—

    • (A) a married couple of the same sex,

    • (B) a couple that are civil partners of each other, or

      • (C) a cohabiting couple of the same sex,

      each of the couple referred to in subclause (A), (B) or (C),

      and

  • (ii) in any other case—

    • (I) a parent of the child,

    • (II) the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of a parent of the child, or

    • (III) a parent of the child under section 5 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 where the child is a donor-conceived child within the meaning of Part 2 of that Act;

    ‘sole male adopter’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1995 and includes, for the purpose of this Act, a person who would be a sole male adopter but for the fact that he is not an employee within the meaning of that Act;

    ‘surviving parent’, in relation to a child whose relevant parent has died, means—

• (a) in the case of a child who is, or is to be, adopted—

  • (i) where the deceased relevant parent was the adopting mother or sole male adopter of the child, the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of the adopting mother or sole male adopter of the child,

  • (ii) where the deceased relevant parent was the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of the adopting mother or sole male adopter of the child, the adopting mother or sole male adopter concerned, or

  • (iii) in any other case, where the deceased relevant parent was a member of a couple referred to in subclause (A), (B) or (C) of paragraph (b)(i)(III) of the definition of relevant parent, the other member of the couple,

  and

• (b) in any other case—

  • (i) where the deceased relevant parent of the child was a parent referred to in paragraph (b)(ii)(I) or (b)(ii)(III), as the case may be, of the definition of relevant parent, the other parent of the child or the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of the deceased relevant parent, and

  • (ii) where the deceased relevant parent of the child was the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, of a parent referred to in paragraph (b)(ii)(I) or (b)(ii)(III), as the case may be, of the definition of relevant parent, the parent concerned;

  ‘transferred parent’s leave’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2019.

• (2) For the purpose of this Chapter, a reference to a child who is adopted is a reference to a child who is the subject of—

  • (a) an adoption order within the meaning of the Act of 2010, or

  • (b) an intercountry adoption effected outside the State and recognised under that Act.

  Entitlement to and duration of benefit

  61G.(1) Subject to this Act, a relevant parent shall be entitled to parent’s benefit in respect of a period during which the relevant parent provides care and assistance in relation to a child, ending not later than 52 weeks after the birth of the child or the day of placement of the child, where—

  • (a) the relevant parent—

    • (i) is an employed contributor and it is certified by his or her employer that the parent is entitled to parent’s leave under Part 2 of the Act of 2019, or

    • (ii) is in insurable self-employment,

    and

  • (b) subject to subsection (2), the relevant parent satisfies the contribution conditions in section 61H.

• (2) Regulations may provide for entitling to parent’s benefit, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, the class or classes of persons who would be entitled to that benefit but for the fact that the contribution conditions in section 61H are not satisfied.

• (3) Parent’s benefit shall be payable under this Chapter to a relevant parent in relation to a child for the purpose of enabling the relevant parent to provide, or assist in the provision of, care to the child.

• (4) A person who is a relevant parent in more than one capacity in respect of a child shall not be entitled to parent’s benefit in more than one such capacity in respect of the child.

• (5) Subject to subsections (6) and (10)(c), only one parent’s benefit shall be payable to a relevant parent in relation to a child and where—

  • (a) the birth of the child is part of a multiple birth of 2 or more children, or

  • (b) a person adopts 2 or more children at the same time,

  only one parent’s benefit shall be payable to a relevant parent in relation to the children concerned.

• (6) Subsection (5) shall not operate to prevent parent’s benefit being paid to a relevant parent referred to in paragraph (b)(i) of the definition of relevant parent in section 61F(1), in relation to a child by reason only that parent’s benefit has already been paid in relation to that child to a person other than the relevant parent concerned prior to the adoption of the child.

• (7) Subject to this Chapter, parent’s benefit, for the period specified in subsection (10)(b)(i) or (ii), may be paid in respect of—

  • (a) a continuous period of parent’s leave, or

  • (b) periods of parent’s leave each consisting of not less than 1 week.

• (8) Where the parent’s leave is taken in accordance withsubsection (7)(b), the employer must certify that the relevant parent is entitled to each period of leave under Part 2 of the Act of 2019.

• (9) Subject to section 61H(2), the relevant parent must, at the time of application, satisfy the conditions for receipt of parent’s benefit, as set out in section 61H(1).

• (10) Subject to this Chapter, parent’s benefit shall be payable—

  • (a) in the case of an employed contributor—

    • (i) for the period of parent’s leave to which the relevant parent is entitled under Part 2 of the Act of 2019, or

    • (ii) for the period of transferred parent’s leave to which a surviving parent is entitled under Part 2 of the Act of 2019,

  • (b) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment, being—

    • (i) a relevant parent referred to in paragraph (b)(i) of the definition of relevant parent in section 61F(1), for a continuous period of 2 consecutive weeks or periods consisting of not less than one week—

      • (I) beginning on or after the day of placement of the child, and

      (II)ending not later than 52 weeks after the day of placement of the child,

      or

    • (ii) a relevant parent referred to in paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition of relevant parent, for a continuous period of 2 consecutive weeks or periods consisting of not less than one week—

      • (I) beginning on or after the date of birth of the child, and

      • (II) ending not later than 52 weeks after the date of birth of the child,

      or

  • (c) in the case of a surviving parent entitled to parent’s benefit under subsection (11)(b)(ii) being the relevant parent of the child, for 2 weeks taken as a continuous period or periods consisting of not less than one week, less any period for which parent’s benefit has already been paid in relation to the child but where the surviving parent dies, the benefit shall not be payable for any subsequent day.

• (11)

  • (a) Subject to paragraph (b), parent’s benefit shall not be transferable between relevant parents.

  • (b) The surviving parent of a child shall be entitled to benefit under this Chapter as if he or she were the relevant parent and the provisions of this Chapter (other than section 61H) shall apply in the case of the surviving parent where—

    • (i) in the case of a surviving parent who is an employed contributor, it is certified by the employer of the surviving parent that he or she is entitled to transferred parent’s leave under Part 2 of the Act of 2019, or

    • (ii) in any other case, the relevant parent entitled to parent’s benefit in relation to the child dies before the expiry of the fifty-second week following the date of birth or the day of placement.

• (12) In the event of the hospitalisation of the child in relation to whom the relevant parent is entitled to parent’s benefit, the payment of the parent’s benefit in accordance with this Chapter may be postponed and regulations may provide for the period of such postponement.

• (13) Where provision is made under subsection (12) for the postponement of the payment of parent’s benefit, the payment may be payable after the period specified in subsection (10)(b)(i) or (ii) but shall not be postponed to a day later than 7 days immediately after the day on which the child is discharged from hospital.

• (14) Where a child in relation to whom a relevant parent is entitled to parent’s benefit dies on or before the expiration of the period of the entitlement concerned, the death of that child shall not affect the entitlement of the relevant parent to parent’s benefit.

• (15) Where a person referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of relevant parent is effected by seasonal variations in the volume of work in his or her business, profession or occupation, and the relevant parent cannot receive the parent’s benefit within the period referred to in subsection (10)(b)(i) or (ii), the reference to the period in subsection (10)(b)(i) or (ii) shall be construed as if it were extended by a period of 12 weeks.

• (16) Where—

  • (a) a relevant parent referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of relevant parent has his or her leave postponed in accordance with section 7(3)(a) of the Act of 2019,

  • (b) a relevant parent referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of relevant parent has his or her leave postponed in accordance with section 13 of the Act of 2019, or

  • (c) a relevant parent referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of relevant parent cannot receive his or her parent’s benefit by virtue of the application of subsection (15),

  the payment of parent’s benefit in accordance with this Chapter may be postponed and regulations may provide for the period of such postponement.

• (17) For the purposes of this section, a Sunday shall not in any week be treated as a day of entitlement to parent’s benefit and, accordingly, the amount payable by way of that benefit for any other day of a week shall be one-sixth of the appropriate weekly rate, subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10 cent where it is a multiple of 5 cent but not also a multiple of 10 cent, and being rounded to the nearest 10 cent where it is not a multiple of 5 cent or 10 cent.

• (18) Regulations may provide for requiring an employer or any other person to furnish any information that may be required for the purposes of determining a claim for parent’s benefit.

• (19) Subject to subsections (20) and (21), this section applies—

  • (a) in the case of a child who is, or is to be, adopted, where the day of placement in respect of the child falls on or after 1 November 2019, or

  • (b) in any other case, where the date of birth of the child falls on or after 1 November 2019.

• (20) Where a child is adopted and the day of placement in respect of the child falls on or after 1 November 2019 and before the coming into operation of this section, the reference in subsections (1) and (10)(b)(i)(II) to not later than 52 weeks after the day of placement shall be construed as a reference to not later than 52 weeks after the date on which this section comes into operation.

• (21) Where the date of birth in respect of a child falls on or after 1 November 2019 and before the coming into operation of this section, the reference in subsections (1) and (10)(b)(ii)(II) to not later than 52 weeks after the birth of the child shall be construed as a reference to not later than 52 weeks after the date on which this section comes into operation.

Conditions for receipt

61H. (1) The contribution conditions for parent’s benefit are—

- (a) in the case of an employed contributor—

    - (i) (I) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the period beginning with their entry into insurance and ending immediately before the relevant day, and

        - (II) (A) that the claimant has qualifying contributions or credited contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the second last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant day occurs or in a subsequent complete contribution year before the relevant day,

          or

        - (B) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 26 contribution weeks in each of the second last and third last complete contribution years before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant day occurs,

          or

    - (ii) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the 12 months immediately before the relevant day, or having been in insurable self-employment, satisfies the contribution conditions in paragraph (b),

      and

- (b) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment—

    - (i) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 52 contribution weeks in the second last complete contribution year or in the third last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant day occurs, or in a subsequent complete contribution year before the relevant day, or

    - (ii) where the claimant was previously an employed contributor, that they satisfy the contribution conditions in paragraph (a)(i) or that they have employment contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the 12 months immediately before the relevant day.

• (2) A person who has qualified for maternity benefit, paternity benefit or adoptive benefit in respect of a child shall, in respect of that child, be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of subsection (1).

Rate of benefit

61I. Subject to this Act, the weekly rate of parent’s benefit shall be an amount equal to the greater of—

- (a) the amount of illness benefit, including any increases of that benefit, which the person would otherwise receive if he or she was entitled to that benefit, or

- (b) €245.

  **Disqualification**

  **61J.** Regulations may provide for disqualifying a relevant parent or a surviving parent from receiving parent’s benefit where, during the period for which the benefit is payable, the relevant parent or surviving parent engages in any form of insurable employment, insurable (occupational injuries) employment, insurable self-employment, any employment referred to in paragraph 1, 2, 3 or 6 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 or any self-employment referred to in paragraph 1 or 5 of Part 3 of Schedule 1.”.

30. Amendment of section 238B of Act of 2005

30. Section 238B(3) of the Act of 2005 is amended, in paragraph (a)(i), by the substitution of “Chapter 11A of Part 2, parent’s benefit payable in accordance with Chapter 11B of Part 2” for “Chapter 11A of Part 2”.

31. Amendment of section 241 of Act of 2005

31. Section 241(2) of the Act of 2005 is amended, in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “paternity benefit, parent’s benefit” for “paternity benefit”.

32. Amendment of section 248 of Act of 2005

32. Section 248(2) of the Act of 2005 is amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (eb) (inserted by section 13(1) of the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Act 2018):

• “(ec) where a person is in receipt of parent’s benefit and the child in respect of whom that person is providing or assisting with his or her care dies, payment of the parent’s benefit shall continue to be made,”.

PART 6 Miscellaneous

33. Amendment of Schedule 3 to Redundancy Payments Act 1967

33. Schedule 3 to the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 is amended—

• (a) in paragraph 5, by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (e) (inserted by section 32(a) of the Act of 2016):

• “(f) any period during which an employee was absent from work while on parent’s leave or transferred parent’s leave under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019,”,

and

• (b) in paragraph 8A—

• (i) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ba)(inserted by section 32(b)(i) of the Act of 2016):

• “(bb) a period during which, in accordance with the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019, an employee was absent from work while on parent’s leave or transferred parent’s leave within the meaning of that Act,”,

and

• (ii) in subparagraph (c), by the substitution of “(b), (ba) or (bb)” for “(b) or (ba)”.

34. Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1977

34. Section 6 of the Act of 1977 is amended—

• (a) in subsection (2), by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (i) (inserted by section 33(a)(ii) of the Act of 2016):

• “(j) the exercise or proposed exercise by the employee of the right under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 to parent’s leave or transferred parent’s leave within the meaning of that Act.”,

and

• (b) in subsection (2A), by the substitution of “(h), (i) or (j)” for “(h) or (i)”.

35. Amendment of Act of 1994

35. The Act of 1994 is amended—

• (a) in section 2(1), by the insertion of the following definition:

“ ‘parent’s leave’ has the same meaning as it has in the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019;”,

and

• (b) in section 16—

• (i) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “subsections (10) and (10A)” for “subsection (10)”,

• (ii) in subsection (1A), by the substitution of “subsections (10) and (10A)” for “subsection (10)”,

• (iii) in subsection (3), by the substitution of “subsections (10) and (10A)” for “subsection (10)”, and

• (iv) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (10) (inserted by section 34(d)(vi) of the Act of 2016):

• “(10A) Where, on the date on which a person becomes entitled under subsection (1) to leave under that subsection or, as the case may be, under subsection (1A) to leave under that subsection, the person is on parent’s leave, this section and sections 16A and 16B shall apply to the person subject to the following modifications and any other necessary modifications:

  • (a) where the person is entitled to subsection (1)(a) leave, the leave shall commence immediately after the end of the parent’s leave and, subject to section 16B, end at the end of the twenty-fourth week following the end of the parent’s leave;

  • (b) where the person is entitled to subsection (1A) leave, the leave shall commence immediately after the end of the parent’s leave and, subject to section 16B, end at the end of the twenty-fourth week following the end of the parent’s leave;

  • (c) where the person is entitled to subsection (1)(b) leave, the leave shall commence immediately after the end of the parent’s leave and, subject to sections 16A and 16B, end at the end of the fortieth week following the end of the parent’s leave;

  • (d) a reference in this section and sections 16A and 16B to—

    • (i) subsection (1)(a) leave shall be deemed to include a reference to a period of leave to which paragraph (a) applies,

    • (ii) subsection (1A) leave shall be deemed to include a reference to a period of leave to which paragraph (b) applies, and

    • (iii) subsection (1)(b) leave shall be deemed to include a reference to a period of leave to which paragraph (c) applies.”.

36. Amendment of Act of 1995

36. The Act of 1995 is amended—

• (a) in section 2(1), by the insertion of the following definition:

“ ‘parent’s leave’ has the same meaning as it has in the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019;”,

• (b) by the insertion of the following section after section 6:

“Restrictions on entitlement to adoptive leave

6A. (1) Where a child is, or is to be, adopted by an employee who is the step parent of the child, the employee shall not be entitled to adoptive leave in respect of the child if his or her spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, has, prior to the adoption of the child, taken—

• (a) adoptive leave in respect of that child, or

• (b) maternity leave (within the meaning of the Maternity Protection Act 1994) in respect of that child.

• (2) In this section—

‘Act of 2010’ means the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010;

‘civil partner’ shall be construed in accordance with section 3 of the Act of 2010;

‘cohabitant’ shall be construed in accordance with section 172(1) of the Act of 2010;

‘step parent’ has the same meaning as it has in the Adoption Act 2010.”,

and

• (c) in section 9(3) —

• (i) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “day of placement,” for “day of placement, or”,

• (ii) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “the paternity leave, or” for “the paternity leave.”, and

• (iii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c) :

• “(d) where, on the date of the death of the adopting mother, the adopting father is on parent’s leave, immediately after the end of the parent’s leave.”.

37. Amendment of section 126 of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

37. Section 126 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is amended, in subsection (2A)(a) —

• (a) in subparagraph (iii), by the substitution of “benefit,” for “benefit, and”,

• (b) in subparagraph (iv), by the substitution of “benefit, and” for “benefit.”, and

• (c) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iv) (inserted by section 36(c) of the Act of 2016):

• “(v) parent’s benefit.”.

38. Amendment of Act of 2015

38. The Act of 2015 is amended—

• (a) in section 41(7) —

• (i) in paragraph (e), by the substitution of “the dispute,” for “the dispute, and”,

• (ii) in paragraph (f)(iii), by the substitution of “has died, and” for “has died.”, and

• (iii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (f) (inserted by section 37(a)(iii) of the Act of 2016):

• “(g) in the case of a dispute relating to the entitlement of an employee under the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019, it has been referred to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the day immediately following the date of the occurrence of the dispute.”,

• (b) in Part 1 of Schedule 1, by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 21 (inserted by section 37(b) of the Act of 2016):

“22. Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 ”,

• (c) in Part 3 of Schedule 5, by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 6 (inserted by section 37(c) of the Act of 2016):

“7. Parts 2 and 3 of the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 ”,

and

• (d) in Schedule 6—

• (i) in Part 1 (Acts of the Oireachtas), by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 36 (inserted by section 37(d)(i) of the Act of 2016):

“37. Sections 24(1) and (2) of the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 ”,

and

• (ii) in Part 2 (Acts of the Oireachtas), by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 36 (inserted by section 37(d)(ii) of the Act of 2016):

“37. Section 24(3) of the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 ”.