Early Childhood Ireland CEO Teresa Heeney said has that Ireland needs to be meeting UNICEF guidelines which say children should spend the first year of their life at home.
Later this year, all new fathers will be able to take two weeks' paid leave when their children are born.
The plan was announced in Budget 2016 and is expected to come before Cabinet today and take effect from September.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Heeney said the payment of €230 a week - the same as maternity leave - should cost around €5m this year.
It should have no additional cost to business because it will come from the social protection budget, she said.
"It is really important that the Cabinet signs off on this today and that whoever gets into government pushes it through," Ms Heeney said.
"Ireland compares very badly to the rest of Europe on paternity leave, as it does with all of these things," she said.
"We are almost always at the bottom of the table when it comes to early childhood education investment and that has to change."
Ms Heeney also pointed out that some international companies in Ireland are giving longer periods of paternity leave because they realise it has a positive impact on families and employees and it allows them to retain parents.
