TDs struggle to strike family-work balance

THE hours are long, the stakes high and the stress severe, so it’s no wonder that at times a TD can be reduced to tears.

Long hours at work and days away in Dublin can leave even the most driven deputy in a tug-of-love battle between Leinster House and the family home.

“I do suffer hugely from guilt,” said Cork TD Kathleen Lynch. “Guilty because I didn’t visit my mother; I didn’t see enough of my sister, I don’t give enough time to my husband.”