Dads Must Take Advantage Of Paternity Leave For Scheme To Work - FG

New dads must take advantage of the government's new paid paternity leave in order for the scheme to work, Fine Gael Senator for Dublin Rathdown, Neale Richmond, has said.

"The Paternity Bill will be formally introduced to the Dáil this coming Friday and I look forward to it coming to the Seanad," Deputy Richmond said.

"This is very welcome news for fathers and soon-to-be fathers. It will afford them the opportunity to be more involved at the earliest stages of a child’s development. In fact it will be beneficial for the whole family, as studies show that targeting investment in a child’s early years leads to better outcomes for both the child and wider society.

"In order for the true benefits of this new scheme to be realised however, it is vital that new fathers actually take advantage of it. Unfortunately evidence from other EU countries where the scheme is already in place has shown that an alarmingly high number of new fathers are simply not taking up the scheme or not taking it up in its entirety.

"When enacted, this legislation will allow new fathers to start the combined package of paternity leave and paternity benefit, at any time within the first six months following birth.  It will also apply to the fathers of newly adopted children, this degree of flexibility will be crucial to the scheme succeeding."

(MH/CD)