Irish gay couples will now be able to receive adoptive benefit under new law

Great news for gay parents in Ireland.

Under a new law, LGBT parents will now be entitled to receive an adoption benefit. Previous to the new law gay parents were not able to receive adoption leave or benefit. In 2015 the introduction of marriage equality brought with it the legal right for same-sex married couples to adopt. An additional Adoption (Amendment) Act in 2017 also granted unmarried gay couples the right to adopt a child. Unfortunately, a legal loophole made it impossible for gay couples to receive the adoptive leave and benefit accessed by straight adoptive couples. Now a new piece of legislation, approved by the Irish Cabinet last week, is set to resolve this issue and grant gay adoptive parents the same legal entitlements as all other adoptive parents. The Parental Leave and Benefit Bill 2019, now approved by Cabinet, will close the legal loophole that excluded gay couples up until this point. According to GCN David Stanton, Minister of State at the Department of Justice was quoted as having said ;

“This is further progress towards ensuring equality for all families.”

The new bill which will take effect in November will see gay parents receiving two weeks paid parental leave.