Parent's leave in Ireland: nine weeks for each parent

Parent's leave is the paid leave each parent can take in the first two years of a child's life, on top of maternity and paternity leave. Each parent has nine weeks, paid by Parent's Benefit at €299 a week from the Department of Social Protection, with six weeks' notice to the employer. This guide covers who qualifies, how the weeks can be split, the notice, the benefit and the form, why the weeks cannot be transferred, and your protection at work.

The law is the Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019 as amended. Do not confuse it with parental leave, which is a different, unpaid entitlement under the Parental Leave Acts; that is covered in parental leave in Ireland.

The entitlement in one table

Who is a relevant parent

The Act gives the leave to each "relevant parent" of a child. That includes the mother, the father, the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of either, the parent of a donor-conceived child, and each adopting parent or the partner of one. A same-sex couple, a cohabiting couple and separated parents each qualify in their own right, because the entitlement attaches to the parent, not the household.

The nine weeks are per child. Twins give each parent nine weeks for each child, so 18 weeks each, within the same two-year window.

Nine weeks each, not nine weeks between you

The weeks belong to each parent individually. If one parent does not use their nine weeks, the other cannot take them. The only exception in the Act is where a parent dies, in which case the surviving parent may take the remainder of the deceased parent's leave.

This is a deliberate design choice: the leave is meant to be used by both parents, and the "for fathers" searches reflect that it is the main paid leave available to a father beyond the two weeks of paternity leave. Fathers, same-sex partners and adopting parents take it on exactly the same terms as the mother.

When and how it can be taken

The nine weeks must be taken within two years of the birth, or of the day of placement in an adoption. After the child's second birthday any unused weeks are lost.

You can take all nine weeks in one block, or split them into separate blocks of at least one week each. A block can be any whole number of weeks. So one parent might take nine weeks straight after paternity leave, while the other takes three blocks of three weeks spread over the two years. Days or part weeks are not possible under the Act.

Each block needs its own six weeks' written notice to the employer, saying when it will start and how long it will last. The leave planner lays the blocks out on the two-year window and gives the notice date for each.

The leave is independent of the other family leaves and is not reduced by them. A typical sequence for a father is paternity leave first, then one or more blocks of parent's leave, then unpaid parental leave later in the child's life.

Notice to your employer

Give the employer written notice at least six weeks before each block starts, with the start date, the length of the block, and the expected date of birth or placement, or the actual date if the child has arrived. The employer can ask for evidence of the date. A letter or email is enough; keep a copy and the acknowledgement.

The employer must confirm the leave in writing, in a document both of you sign, at least four weeks before it starts. If you later want to change the dates, agree it in writing. Where the dates change because the child arrives early or late, the Act allows a revised notice.

Can the employer postpone it?

Unlike parental leave, the 2019 Act gives the employer only a limited right to postpone. Where the employer and you cannot agree on dates, the leave can be postponed by up to 12 weeks on specified business grounds such as seasonal variation, the unavailability of a replacement, or the nature of your duties, and the employer must give you written notice of the postponement and the reasons at least four weeks before the leave was due to begin. The postponement cannot push the leave past the two-year window without extending it. An employer cannot refuse the leave outright.

If a postponement looks like a refusal in disguise, or the reasons given do not match the Act's grounds, that may be a breach you can refer to the WRC.

Parent's Benefit: €299 a week and how to claim

Parent's Benefit is paid by the Department of Social Protection for each week of parent's leave. The rate from January 2026 is €299 a week, the same as Maternity Benefit and Paternity Benefit. It is taxable, but not subject to USC or PRSI. The acronyms used here are explained in the glossary, and any Budget change to the rate is tracked on /changes.

You need enough PRSI contributions at the right class in a tax year the Department treats as relevant. The exact contribution numbers are on the Department's Parent's Benefit page, linked in the sources, and only the Department can confirm your record. Self-employed people on Class S qualify for the benefit, though the leave itself is an employment right.

To claim:

1. Apply online through MyWelfare with a verified MyGovID account, before each block of leave. The Department asks for the claim some weeks in advance and its page gives the lead time.
2. Your employer completes a certificate confirming the dates of the block. Ask HR for it once your notice has been accepted.
3. The Department pays weekly into your bank account for the weeks of leave.

A new claim is needed for each block, so a parent who takes three blocks makes three claims. If the Department refuses on contribution grounds, the leave itself is unaffected: you still have the nine weeks off work and the right to return, without the State payment.

Does your employer pay you?

Not under the Act. Pay during parent's leave is Parent's Benefit unless your contract, handbook or a collective agreement provides a top-up. Top-ups for parent's leave are less common than for maternity leave, but some employers and parts of the public service pay the difference between the benefit and salary for some or all of the nine weeks, on condition that the benefit is paid to the employer or deducted from pay. Check before you plan around it.

Your job and your protection

During parent's leave your contract continues, your service is unbroken, and you are treated as if you were at work for everything except pay. Annual leave keeps accruing, and a public holiday during a block is added to your entitlement; the rules are in annual leave entitlement in Ireland.

You are entitled to return to the same job on the same terms, or, if that is not reasonably practicable, to suitable alternative work on terms not substantially less favourable.

Under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015, a dismissal wholly or mainly because you took or asked for parent's leave is treated as unfair, with no 12-month service requirement. Penalising you for taking it, by cutting hours, moving you to worse duties or withholding a bonus, may be penalisation under the 2019 Act and discrimination on the family status ground. A dispute about a refusal, a postponement or a penalty goes to the WRC within six months, extendable to twelve for reasonable cause; see how to make a WRC complaint.

Parent's leave and the other leaves

Where this leaves you

Nine weeks for you, nine for the other parent, each paid by Parent's Benefit at €299 a week, taken in one block or several of at least a week, within two years of the birth, with six weeks' written notice before each block. The weeks cannot be handed to the other parent, and an employer can postpone them only on the Act's grounds, never refuse them.

The leave planner puts your blocks on the two-year calendar, flags the six-week notice date for each one, and shows how parent's leave sits alongside paternity, maternity and parental leave so that nothing is lost at the second birthday.