The extension of paid parent's leave from two to five weeks for each parent has been approved by the Cabinet.
It is anticipated that the legislation will be introduced in the New Year, according to Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman.
It will be available to parents whose child is born after November, 2019.
However, changes to the IT system to implement the extension of Parent's Leave is expected to take until April, 2021.
Minister O’Gorman is examining whether backdated payments can be made for individuals who take the additional leave prior to April.
The Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced two weeks of paid Parent’s Leave for each parent to be taken in the first year after the birth or adoptive placement of a child.
Under new proposals approved by Government, each parent will be given an additional three weeks' leave.
The period in which it can be taken will also be extended to the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child.
Speaking after the Cabinet meeting today, Minister O’Gorman said: "We’re committed to ensuring every child gets the best possible start in life, and supporting parents to spend more time with their kids is a big part of that.
"I hope this five weeks paid parent’s leave will help mothers and fathers take that time in those precious first couple of years with their child."
The Cabinet also approved the inclusion of provisions to amend the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 alongside the extension of Parent's Leave and Benefit.
The provisions will enable married male same-sex adopting couples to avail of adoptive leave and also allow all adopting couples to choose who should take the leave.
Labour Seanad group leader and spokesperson for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration, Senator Ivana Bacik said: "While it is positive that this proposal is one step closer to being fully enacted, parents have anxiously awaited this news for months now and it is disappointing that the measure will not be implemented until April 2021.
"Making these payments in arrears will render the scheme inaccessible to those many families across the country who cannot afford a temporary reduction in income."
Social Democrats TD for Wicklow, Jennifer Whitmore, urged the Department of Children to make it payable to parents at the start of the new year and not in April 2021, as proposed in the Budget.
"Parents still require certainty before the Christmas holidays and need to be able to plan ahead for work and family life," she said.
Vote on paid leave for domestic abuse survivors
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Workers' Rights, Louise O’Reilly, has called for cross-party support for her party's Bill being debated in the Dáil tonight to provide for a statutory entitlement to domestic violence paid leave.
"Despite the significant increase in demand for services during the pandemic, domestic violence and abuse continues to be under-reported due to stigma, shame and fear," she said in a statement earlier.
"Domestic violence and abuse do not stop when victims leave their homes and often follows them into their place of work."
Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman said his Department would be starting a consultation process on paid leave for domestic abuse survivors
"I will then bring proposals to the Cabinet to legislate for this," he said on Twitter.
Safe Ireland, the national agency working with 39 domestic violence member services, welcomed the presentation (second stage) of the new Organisation of Working Time (Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2020 to the Dáil.
"We are urging deputies from all parties to attend the debate this evening and vote in favour of its passage without any undue delay," said the group's co-CEO Mary McDermott.
"Work is a vital support of income and a place of sanctuary for many survivors," she added.
"The risk of losing that income, that sanctuary and even ultimately the job, is huge if a woman has to take time off because of trauma or injuries as a result of domestic violence."
