Labour has said they are “disappointed” the Government will delay the party’s Reproductive Health Related Leave Bill. 

The legislation would provide women who have miscarried with up to 20 days of paid leave and 10 days off for workers undergoing fertility treatment. 

It was first introduced into the Seanad in 2021 and in November passed the chamber’s final stage with Government backing.  

The Cabinet has since indicated it still supports the principles of the bill but wants a further 12 months to consider the implications of the legislation. 

Currently, there is no entitlement to paid leave from work if you miscarry in the first two trimesters of a pregnancy and Labour leader Ivana Bacik believes that is not fair. 

“A lot of women, of course, would take sick leave, they’d take unpaid leave,” she told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“But it can be a desperately difficult and traumatic time for women, for their partners and there’s currently no official recognition. 

“We hear from women all the time who tell us that there’s a taboo about speaking about a miscarriage in the workplace.

“We want to change that.” 

A woman holding a pregnancy test. Image: Image Source/Alamy

Deputy Bacik said it was “very welcome” that the Government had introduced free IVF for some couples but noted people still need to apply for time off to undergo the treatment. 

“There’s no entitlement to time off work to undergo that treatment,” she said. 

“What we’re trying to do is move forward our laws to reflect our contemporary understanding.” 

Timeframe

A team in UCC has been asked to study the implications of the legislation and Deputy Bacik said there is no reason why the bill could not progress at the same time. 

“That [study] could be done in parallel with bringing this bill forward,” she said. 

“If the Government agreed to pass this bill just through the second stage tonight in the Dáil, we would then have had [several] months of time where we could have the study conclude. 

“I understand the study is very well underway and we would then be in a position to enact this bill perhaps by the end of this year.” 

According to the British NHS, one in eight pregnancies end in miscarriage and one in seven heterosexual couples experience difficulty conceiving.

Main image: Labour's Ivana Bacik at the publication of paid leave for reproductive health-related issues outside Leinster House. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie