Self-employed dads less likely to take paternity leave benefit

A ‘paternity-leave divide’ is emerging, with self-employed fathers far less likely to take up the benefit than PRSI workers.

Since September, every father of a newborn child was given the right to two weeks’ paid leave at a cost of around €11 million per year.

The latest figures show around 13,345 PAYE fathers have taken paternity leave, compared with just 1,222 self-employed fathers.

This means that self-employed fathers account for only 9 per ...