How Much Maternity Benefit Do Employees Receive in Ireland?

Your employees may receive a full-rate (€289/week) or half-rate (€144.50/week) Maternity Benefit in 2025 — depending on whether they receive other social welfare benefits alongside it.

Let’s discuss this in more detail.

Further reading

• Have expectant mothers on your team? Explore our comprehensive guide on Maternity Benefit to understand employee eligibility and your responsibilities.

• Check out our detailed Irish Auto Enrolment guide to learn how you can prepare for this new pension scheme.

• Explore our detailed article on Paternity Benefit to learn which employees qualify, what they’re entitled to, how they can apply, and more.

How Much Is the Maternity Benefit in Ireland in 2025?

In 2025, a pregnant woman eligible for full-rate Maternity Benefit is paid €289 per week for 26 weeks or 156 days, excluding Sundays.

A claimant is entitled to get a half-rate Maternity Benefit (€144.5/week) if they already receive certain social welfare payments, such as:

• One-Parent Family Payment
• Widow's and Surviving Civil Partner (Contributory) Pension
• Widow's and Surviving Civil Partner (Non-Contributory) Pension, etc.

What’s more?

If your employees provide full-time care to another person, they can receive full-rate Maternity Benefit and half-rate Carer’s Allowance.

They can also claim full-rate Maternity Benefit and the Working Family Payment (WFP) simultaneously. The WFP income limits have increased by €60 from January 2nd, 2025.

However, if your employees have adult or child dependents, they may get a higher rate of payment.

If your employees have dependents, the Maternity Benefit rate is compared to the Illness Benefit rate they may get if they miss work due to an illness. Your employees will receive the higher of the two rates.

Example:

Suppose your employee is entitled to the standard Maternity Benefit of €289.

Let’s say her partner is unemployed and has signed up for unemployment credits. They also have two children under 12 years of age.

If your employee received an Illness Benefit, she would get €506.

This includes the personal rate of Illness Benefit (€244)+ an Increase for a Qualified Adult (€162) + Increases for two Qualified Children below 12 (€50x2).

Since the Illness Benefit amount is greater than the standard Maternity Benefit (€289), your employee will receive a Maternity Benefit of €506.

The exceptions?

Your employees aren’t entitled to an Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) if the adult dependent receives a social welfare payment.

However, they may receive a half-rate increase for a Qualified Child (IQC). The rate may also change based on the income of the adult dependent.

Your employees will qualify for:

• Full-rate IQA and full-rate IQC if the adult dependent is unemployed and signed on for unemployment credits or earns under €100.01 per week.

• Tapered rate of IQA and a full-rate IQC if the adult dependent earns between €100.01 and €310 per week.

• No IQA and half-rate IQC if the adult dependent earns between €310.01 and €400 per week.

• No IQA and no IQC if the adult dependent earns over €400 per week.

3 FAQs About Maternity Benefit Payments

Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about Maternity Benefit payments:

1. How Is Maternity Benefit Paid?

The Maternity Benefit is directly paid into your employee’s bank, building society, or deposit account starting the first week of their maternity leave.

If you continue to pay your employees during maternity leave, the benefit can be paid directly into your bank account. However, this arrangement must be clearly stated in your employee’s employment contract.

2. Can Employees Receive Maternity Benefit If They Live Abroad?

If your employees live and work abroad, their eligibility for Irish Maternity Benefit depends on their country of residence:

• EU, EEA, or Switzerland citizens: They can receive Maternity Benefit for any part of their maternity leave spent in these countries. They may also receive Maternity Benefit while travelling outside the EU, EEA, or Switzerland for up to six weeks.

• Non-EU, EEA, or Switzerland citizens: They can travel anywhere outside Ireland for up to six weeks without affecting their Maternity Benefit.

3. Will Employees Be Eligible for Benefits if They Take Additional Maternity Leave?

Your employees can take an additional 16 weeks of maternity leave at the end of the 26 basic weeks. However, this is unpaid maternity leave and doesn’t include extra Maternity Benefits.

Offer Additional Maternity Coverage to Your Employees With Kota

The Irish Government’s maternity allowance supports expecting mothers.

However, as an employer, you would want your employees on maternity leave to have more comprehensive maternity support.

This is where Kota can help.

Kota simplifies employee health insurance — no broker hassles, paperwork, or admin overheads!

Once you decide on your contribution, your employees can choose their health packages per their needs, including maternity and fertility extras.

For instance, employees get home birth coverage for up to €4,000 under the Irish Life Health 4D Health 1 Plan. They can also choose add-ons, like a maternity extra for additional coverage for vaccinations, antenatal classes, postnatal and mental health support, etc.

Join Kota and provide the maternity support your employees need!