2101. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected cost in 2027 of providing for pay related - maternity benefit, paternity benefit, parent’s benefit and adoptive benefit respectively on the same basis as pay related jobseekers benefit, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59021/26]

The Programme for Government commits to introducing Pay-Related Parent's Benefit and exploring other payments where a similar model could be applied.

I intend to issue a public consultation document on a pay-related approach to Parents' Benefit , which will also help to inform decisions about other family related benefits. I want to invite the views of all stakeholders, including the public and employers to support the process and to assist in the development of any future proposals in this area.

At this stage, an estimate of costings is not available. While payment rates are an important consideration, they represent only one of several parameters that would influence the overall cost of these schemes.