Maternity and paternity benefits would rise to €309 a week under new Bill
Four Irish family benefits would rise from €299 to €309 a week on 4 January 2027 under the published Bill. Here is what that could mean for a claim.
News / WealthPhoto: Kevin Gordon, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin, 25 February 2009, via Geograph / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Illustrative image.
A parent planning leave around Christmas now has a date to use in a provisional budget. The Social Welfare Bill published on 6 November proposes Monday 4 January 2027 for a rise in four weekly benefits. The Oireachtas recorded the Bill at First Stage. The new rate still requires enactment.
Which payments would change?
Sections 4 to 7 would increase the weekly rates for Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit, Paternity Benefit and Parent’s Benefit from €299 to €309. The same €10 increase appears in each section. These are separate payments for qualifying periods of leave. The proposal concerns their weekly rates and does not give a parent four payments for the same week. Bill explanatory memorandum
How much difference would €10 a week make?
For a claimant receiving the standard rate, two weeks at the proposed rate would total €618, compared with €598 at the current rate. If all 26 weeks of a qualifying Maternity Benefit claim were paid at the new rate, the difference would be 26 × €10 = €260. For a claim spanning the change, apply the €10 only to weeks payable at the higher rate if the Bill passes as drafted.
Those figures are benefit amounts before any personal tax or employer top-up. If your employer continues paying your usual salary during leave, ask payroll how it treats the State payment before adding €10 to your household budget. For someone relying on the benefit alone, Compound’s emergency fund calculator can help estimate the gap between essential bills and income during leave.
What to do before January
Check your entitlement now even if the Bill is still before the Oireachtas. Maternity Benefit depends on the claimant’s social insurance record and certification. The Department provides separate instructions for employees and the self-employed, including how and when to apply. Department of Social Protection claim guidance
For a family budget today, use the current rate as the starting point and keep the proposed increase on a separate line. Check the Bill’s progress and the Department’s published rate before relying on it.
Archival photograph: Kevin Gordon, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin, 25 February 2009, via Geograph / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. CC BY-SA 2.0. Social previews crop the original.
