S.I. No. 154/2021 - Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 (Part 4) (Commencement) Order 2021

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 6th April, 2021.

I, HEATHER HUMPHREYS, Minister for Social Protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 1 (3) of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 (No. 4 of 2021), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 (Part 4) (Commencement) Order 2021.

2. The 1st day of April 2021 is appointed as the day on which Part 4 of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 (No. 4 of 2021) shall come into operation.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

31 March, 2021.

HEATHER HUMPHREYS,

Minister for Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

This Order provides for the commencement of Part 4 of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 (the “Act”) with effect from 1 April 2021.

The purpose of the Act is, inter alia, to provide for an extension of the entitlement to Parent’s Leave and Benefit for each qualifying parent from 2 weeks to 5 weeks, to extend the period in which Parent’s Leave and Benefit can be taken to not later than two years after the birth or adoptive placement of the child; to provide for Adoptive Leave and Benefit for male same sex couples (with consequential amendments to Paternity Leave and Benefit and Parent’s Leave and Benefit) and to enable adoptive couples to choose which parent may avail of Adoptive Leave.

Part 4 of the Act amends the Adoptive Benefit, Paternity Benefit, and Parent’s Benefit provisions in the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 (as amended).