From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, is today highlighting the extension of breastfeeding breaks to two years to mark World Breastfeeding Week.
The entitlement to breastfeeding breaks under the Maternity Protection Acts was extended from six months to two years through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. This extension came into effect on 3 July 2023.
Under the Act, staff are entitled to time off without loss of pay for breastfeeding breaks at work for up to one hour per normal working day. Breastfeeding breaks may be taken in the form of one break of 60 minutes, or two breaks of 30 minutes each, or three breaks of 20 minutes each, or in such other manner as agreed by the employee and their manager.
Speaking today, Minister O’Gorman said:
"The theme of World Breastfeeding Week this year is ‘Let’s make breastfeeding and work, work!’ and the extension of breastfeeding breaks means that women going back to work after maternity leave are supported to continue breastfeeding even after they return to work. Ireland has the lowest breastfeeding rates in the EU and Growing Up in Ireland data shows a link between women returning to work and stopping breastfeeding. Access to breastfeeding breaks is a valuable tool for supporting extended breastfeeding for women returning to work after having a baby."
The extension of breastfeeding breaks was also an important commitment under the First 5 Strategy which has now been met.
World Breastfeeding Week is held in the first week of August every year and is supported by the WHO and UNICEF.
In 2018, a World Health Assembly resolution endorsed World Breastfeeding Week as an important health promotion strategy. With a different theme each year, it aims to promote the enabling environments that help women to breastfeed – including support in the community and the workplace, with adequate protections in government policies and laws - as well as sharing information on breastfeeding benefits and strategies.
World Breastfeeding Week 2023 takes place from 1-7 August and the theme is ‘Let’s make breastfeeding and work, work!’.
Section 34 of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 amends the definition of ‘‘employee who is breastfeeding” under section 2(1) of the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 to extend the entitlement to breastfeeding breaks from 26 weeks to 104 weeks from the date of confinement.
On 3 July 2023, this section was commenced and regulations published (Maternity Protection (Protection of Mothers who are Breastfeeding) Regulations 2023) which made the entitlement available to all qualifying employees.
Action A.1.2.1 of the First 5 Implementation Plan commits to use the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Bill to introduce an amendment to the 2004 Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act to extend the entitlement to breastfeeding breaks to breastfeeding mothers in the workforce from 26 weeks post birth to 104 weeks post birth.
Recommendations from the HSE, Unicef and the WHO are that breastfeeding should be continued until the age of two.