Miscarriage leave desperately needed for women

Labour workers’ rights spokesperson Marie Sherlock said the failure of Budget 2024 to provide early miscarriage leave means women remain disadvantaged in the workplace.

Senator Sherlock said:

“In March 2021, Labour introduced a Bill to provide up to 20 days paid time off work for women who experience an early miscarriage, and up to 10 days for workers undergoing fertility treatments. Since then, Government have utterly failed to act on this desperately needed compassionate leave.

“There is no legal workplace recognition of what is an immensely traumatic and upsetting time for women and families. We know that approximately 14,000 women will experience a miscarriage in Ireland each year.

“These women are afforded no time off to recover physically and emotionally from their loss.

“In response to Parliamentary Questions put down by the Labour Party, Minister O’Gorman stated that he is awaiting the results of a survey his Department has commissioned before making any decisions on how to support women impacted. Government has been kicking the can on introducing this much needed measure for almost three years.

“In Labour’s Alternative Budget, we called for the introduction of reproductive leave for miscarriage or threatened miscarriage. Such a measure would only cost €8.4 million annually, but would be priceless for the women who need it.

“We need to support workers when they need it most. The failure to provide compassionate leave in this year’s Budget shows just how out of touch this Government is.”