An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-28
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Nicole Ryan (SF), Administrative Panel

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, specifically that No. 11 be taken before No. 1 in order to put the Maternity Protection (Child Bereavement) (Amendment) Bill 2026 on the Order Paper. This Bill seeks to amend the Maternity Protection Act 1994 to allow a mother to pause her maternity leave in the event in the death of a child, giving her the flexibility over how and when she takes the leave for such a traumatic loss. While current legislation allows maternity leave to be postponed in cases of serious illness, this Bill extends the same compassion and commonsense to the cases of child bereavement. The Bill does not create additional leave, but allows existing entitlements to be taken at a more appropriate time, recognising that grief does not run on a timetable. I hope colleagues across this House will support the Bill and allow it to proceed.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-28