Minister English outlines Government position on reproductive health related leave
Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English TD this evening (24 May) addressed the Seanad on the Private Member’s Bill, Organisation of Working Time (Reproductive Health Related Leave) Bill 2021 which proposed that employees be entitled to leave with pay where the employee has suffered a miscarriage and leave with pay to receive treatment from a registered practitioner in the State in relation to pregnancy, childbirth or assisted human reproduction.
Speaking this evening Minister English said:
"I welcome the Private Members Bill as an important contribution to the discussion in this area. Miscarriage and stillbirth are extremely difficult experiences that touch many peoples’ lives, perhaps more people than any of us here realise as more than one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage. The loss is devastating for women and their partners."