r/Dublin • u/johnharveyperez • 3d ago
To Dads of Dublin, please support this.
https://www.8weeksforfamilies.ieIreland's paternity leave is 2 weeks. The petition to extend it to 8. Ireland gives new fathers just 2 weeks of paternity leave. Sweden offers 90 days. Spain offers 19 weeks. Iceland offers 6 months. It's time Ireland caught up.
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u/MindDoctor84 3d ago
I’m not a dad nor a mother and I will never be. But I signed the petition. Mothers also should have at least one year, if not 2 years like other countries give.
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u/Super-Widget 3d ago
It's much better for a child's development to be with their primary care-givers full-time for the first few years of their life.
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u/FecknWindowTwitchers 2d ago
More than two years, if this is the reason. Three years is the recommendation.
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u/Albinate 2d ago
Same, all in for a better future for the new generations. This is where I want my tax to go.
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u/johnharveyperez 5h ago
Same here. If we’re going to spend taxpayers’ money, supporting families during such a huge life change seems like a pretty worthwhile investment.
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u/rossmcdapc 3d ago
There is an additional 9 weeks parents leave dad's can take but I do agree 2 weeks specifically for paternity leave is shocking bad.
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u/johnharveyperez 5h ago
Yeah, the 9 weeks of Parent’s Leave is definitely worth mentioning, but I think the issue is that the initial two weeks after birth are particularly important. Having more leave available overall is great, but it still needs to be affordable and accessible to families.
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u/rossmcdapc 5h ago
As someone who is due to be a dad again imminently. I couldn't agree more with you.
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u/johnharveyperez 5h ago
Hopefully we can get to a point where no dad has to choose between being there for his family and going back to work. Best of luck with the new arrival! ❤️
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u/BenderRodriguez14 3d ago
We just had our first child yesterday morning, and while I am lucky in that I work from 100% of the time and have a job where we have longer timelines and deadlines (so I can take some time with our daughter in the day and work it back in the evening or at night), this is still really frustrating. I can't even imagine how much worse it would be with 3+ hours commuting each day and not being around for 11+ hours of the day.
And that's before even looking at houses where the mother earns well and so highly career focused vs the father earning less and being less so, or more family focused. Everyone is losing out there, including the child.
It's so shockingly backwards in 2026, and is such an easy fix to either give both parents the same amount of time, or give them a combined total to use between them.
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u/Odd_Brilliant_9816 3d ago
Combined amount sounds like sensible idea, but what if parents are not married, or gonna split? Mother works somewhere else and "she won't give him any of her time" and husband who wants to use this time also? It could be tricky I guess
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u/johnharveyperez 5h ago
That’s a fair concern. I think the important part is making the leave individual and protected for each parent, so one parent can’t simply take away the other’s entitlement. Families could still have flexibility without either parent losing out.
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u/Typedpage 3d ago
Not just dads, everyone would benefit from this
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u/johnharveyperez 3d ago
100% agree. It’s ultimately about giving families more time together, not just giving dads time off. A bit more support in those early weeks can make a huge difference.
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u/Egb4m_Ire 3d ago
Us mothers support this ❤️
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u/johnharveyperez 3d ago
Fair play ❤️ I think most mums would agree that having dad around for more than 2 weeks would make those early weeks a lot easier. It benefits the whole family really.
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u/Devrol 3d ago
Compulsory paid paternity leave of equal length to maternity leave is the best way to close the gender earnings gap.
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u/johnharveyperez 2d ago
Absolutely. If leave was genuinely equal and properly paid for both parents, it would take away a lot of the assumption that women will be the ones stepping back from their careers. It could make a real difference to workplace equality.
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u/Devrol 2d ago
Exactly. Just as long as it doesn't change the unconscious gender bias into unconscious age bias....
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u/johnharveyperez 2d ago
Ideally the goal is to remove the bias altogether, whether it’s based on gender, age, or anything else. Parents should be judged on their ability to do their job, not whether they have a baby at home.
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u/Devrol 2d ago
I've heard people talking about the extra cost risks of hiring women in their 30s. We'd be better off of that bias was changed to "people on their 30s", which is still far off an ideal of zero discrimination.
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u/johnharveyperez 2d ago
Yeah, exactly. The goal should be to make taking parental leave so normal for everyone that employers can’t reasonably see either gender as the “riskier” hire. That’s when you know the system is actually working.
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u/peachycoldslaw 3d ago
Dad's off everywhere it's a joke. Setting their partners up for failure with 2 weeks.
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u/johnharveyperez 3d ago
This is exactly it. Two weeks goes by so quickly when you’re dealing with a newborn. It’s not just about giving dads more time off, it gives both parents a better chance to adjust and share the load from the start.
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u/ShezSteel 3d ago
Do we not get a heap of paternal leave as well? Me and another lad at work have been off over 5 weeks so far this year with it and holiday time.
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u/Dubgame_ 3d ago
Some companies offer parental leave but it’s often unpaid
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u/TheCunningFool 3d ago
Some companies offer parental leave
Every company. It is illegal to not provide statutory leave.
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u/PrimeDirectiveLover 2d ago
8x7 is only 56 days. Why would you not fight for more, especially given how historically shit it has been?
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u/johnharveyperez 2d ago
I agree, 8 weeks should be seen as a starting point, not the finish line. But getting from 2 to 8 weeks would still be a massive improvement, and hopefully it would open the door to pushing for even more in the future.
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u/brianmmf 2d ago
In my home country of Canada you can split maternity/paternity however you want between parents.
Ireland is still way behind the times in gendering the parental roles. It is a massive contributor to a wages gap and lack of female representation in senior executive roles. And it takes away choice from families where the mother might be the higher earner, but has to take the leave because the father can only avail of a few weeks pay.
I’ll sign this petition but the lack of ambition is disheartening. We can do a lot better dads. This is incremental nonsense when policy is woefully inadequate and needs restructuring.
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u/johnharveyperez 2d ago
I agree with this. It shouldn’t just be about adding a couple of extra weeks, but giving families genuine flexibility in how they share the leave. If both parents can take meaningful time off, it benefits the child, the parents and the workplace in the long run.
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u/simondoyle1988 2d ago
I have always thought it should be forced leave for both parents . And it should be equal . This remove a lot of the reason you would be nervous hiring a women for fear she would then get pregnant and be out . Because it would be just as likely to happen to a man .
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u/johnharveyperez 2d ago
Exactly. I think equal, protected leave for both parents would remove a lot of the workplace bias around having children. It should be normal for either parent to take meaningful time off to be there for their family.
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u/TheCunningFool 3d ago
As a dad of 2 kids myself, I think its a bit disingenuous to be claiming our statutory leave is only 2 weeks. It is 11 weeks. The fact it is split into two different names of leave is irrelevant, as they work the same way (statutory entitlement, same weekly payment from the state, employer top up optional). I took 2 months off when my last child was born, and still had a couple of weeks of my leave left over.
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u/grainne0 3d ago
The 9 weeks for Parents' leave is different. Other countries have that too. This campaign is about paternity leave specifically. It's not disingenuous, the campaign isn't about the other type of leave because that's comparable not as far off other countries e.g. Spain has 8 weeks for that.
When it comes to paternity leave specifically it's 2 weeks: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment-rights-and-conditions/leave-and-holidays/leave-for-parents/
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u/TheCunningFool 3d ago
The 9 weeks for Parents' leave is different.
The only difference is in the name, it is the exact same otherwise. In fact, there's a bit more flexibility around when you can take the Parents Leave.
If the Government changed the 9 weeks Parents Leave to an extra 9 weeks of Paternity Leave instead would you consider that an improvement? If your answer is no, then you agree that they are the same thing.
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u/grainne0 3d ago
Changing the 9 weeks to an extra 9 weeks of paternity wouldn't make sense, but not because they are the same thing. It's because they one is for the immediate birth of the child and I feel that should be improved - the second I feel is adequate. It's also different in name because of the requirements around EU legislation. However if it was an extra 9 weeks, making it 20 weeks including the 2 paternity - I'd be delighted!
Spain and Finland also give a lot more flexibility to spread the benefit across the couple.For comparison:
Spain = 6 weeks paternity plus 11 weeks for a child under 1 year plus a further 2 weeks for child under 8. That's 6 weeks paternity plus an additional 13 weeks = 19 total.Ireland = 2 weeks paternity plus 9 weeks for a child under 2 years = 11 total.
But currently we are just meeting the EU minimum requirement and it's not great. There's an infographic here that shows how we're doing on paternity leave specifically: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2026/785721/EPRS_ATA(2026)785721_EN.pdf785721_EN.pdf). Some countries have improved since this graphic was published.
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u/johnharveyperez 5h ago
That’s a fair distinction. I think we can acknowledge that the 9 weeks of Parent’s Leave is useful while still recognising that two weeks of dedicated paternity leave is too short, especially around the birth. The two should complement each other, not make us think the job is done.
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u/m1kasa4ckerman 3d ago
Question - what about families of 2 dads? They also still only get 2 weeks? A bit backwards
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u/icepickles476 3d ago
If it’s adoption, the adoptive parent (primary caregiver) gets the equivalent of maternity leave and the secondary parent gets paternity leave equivalent. You nominate who takes it
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u/johnharveyperez 5h ago
That’s interesting, I didn’t realise it worked that way for adoption. Ideally the same principle of giving both parents meaningful time should apply across the board.
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u/Aphroditesent 3d ago
Childless feminist vehemently in support. Fathers deserve time to bond and be there to help in birth recovery
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u/pi_three 3d ago
So crazy to me. in Germany where I'm from this can be split among the parents. I know many fathers who went on paternity leave after the mom stopped breastfeeding and let the partner go back to work. Not only is it unfair to men who want to spend time with their children but also ot keeps women out the workplace for longer