Since the beginning of this year, both parents of at least two children are able to receive maternity allowances from the Social Insurance Company in parallel. This will be the case when the father takes care of one child and the mother on maternity leave is taking care of their other child. The average monthly maternity allowance for people who apply for concurrent maternity benefits should be around €727 this year, and approximately €762 the next. According to the Ministry of Labor's estimates, the entitlement to take these two allowances simultaneously could be used by approximately 600 people this year, but it expects this to rise by 40 percent next year.
A mother who is pregnant or cares for a new born child is entitled to a maternity benefit if she has paid social levies for at least nine months during the two years prior to her giving birth. The entitlement to this allowance starts at the beginning of the sixth week before the expected date of delivery. A mother can receive the maternity allowance for 34 weeks, a single mother for 37 weeks. The father of a child is entitled to a maternity benefit starting six weeks after the child's birth at the earliest and until the child turns 3, and for up to 28 weeks in total. The father must have paid social levies for at least nine months during the two years prior to taking the child into care.
