Government approves maternity leave for local councillors

Minister of State for Local Government, Peter Burke, said: "Previously I was aware of situations where councillors felt pressure to turn up to important votes or debates when they needed to be at home caring for a new baby." File picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Local councillors will be entitled to maternity leave for the first time under measures signed off by Cabinet.

Currently, female councils are regarded as office-holders rather than employees and are not covered by the statutory framework for employees on issues such as maternity leave.

Minister of State for Local Government Peter Burke has now been given the green light to draft legislation to grant councillors an entitlement to maternity leave.

"Previously I was aware of situations where councillors felt pressure to turn up to important votes or debates when they needed to be at home caring for a new baby," he said. 

It is not credible maternity leave if you cannot fully switch off from your work.

Under the proposals, a councillor will be allowed to temporarily appoint a replacement for the time they are on leave, however, if the person would prefer administrative support they can avail of funding of €230 per week to pay someone to assist with secretarial work.

The measures will also cover councillors who are absent due to illness. Elected representatives who take maternity leave will continue to receive their full allowance and those who step in as a substitute will also receive the full representation allowance for the period.

It means that councillors who take six months' leave will still get around €17,000 in payments that they are entitled to as a local representative. Mr Burke said he hopes the measures will encourage more young women to become involved in politics.

"For far too long, female politicians have been denied a basic right of maternity leave as our political system displayed an inherent design bias."

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Mr Burke hopes the measures will pave the way to also allow TDs and senators take maternity leave and said a "renewed energy" must be attached to implementing these changes.

However, this could require a change to the constitution and so a referendum would have to be held before an entitlement to maternity leave for Oireachtas members is introduced.

"Hopefully this proposal that I am bringing to the Cabinet and have got approval for will fast-track those in the Oireachtas as well because it is not rocket science, this is trying to facilitate a normal procedure for a normal function of life and I think we have to do that urgently and reflect society at large. 

"If you're working as an employee, you have all those supports, you're covered by that statutory framework, that you're not as an office-holder," he said.