Fianna Fáil Senator Catherine Ardagh will launch a Bill to implement the Irish Cancer Society’s ‘Leave our Leave’ campaign to defer maternity leave for cancer patients getting chemotherapy during pregnancy today.
The Health (Postponement of Certain Leave) Bill 2024 would amend and extend the Maternity Protection Act 1994 and the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 and provide a mechanism to postpone maternity leave or adoptive leave in circumstances where a person is diagnosed with or being treated for cancer.
Commenting on the launch of the Bill, Senator Ardagh said: “Every year, 60 women in Ireland go through a cancer diagnosis whilst pregnant or postpartum. These women are unable to defer their maternity leave when ill, so all or almost all of their maternity leave is spent receiving life-saving treatment denying them time to spend with their newborn baby.
“We need to legislate to allow these women to defer that leave until their treatment ends.
“It is impossible to overstate the enormous difference it would make to these mothers, their children and their other family members.
“As former chair and a current member of the Oireachtas cross-party group on Cancer, I have raised this issue directly with Minister Roderic O’Gorman consistently. Although he has committed to legislate for this, nothing has changed.
“My hope is, with the launch of this Bill, that the Minister will publish his legislation as soon as possible in order that we can see this matter fully and finally resolved.
“These mothers are missing out on so many precious moments with their new babies because they are spending their maternity leave going through treatment for cancer. I want to be a voice for them and do all I can to resolve this.”
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