Cabinet has approved the publication of new legislation allowing councilors to take maternity leave.
The new scheme offers councilors the option of appointing a person as a temporary substitute in the place of a councilor who is absent due to maternity or illness.
Currently, female councillors are office-holders rather than employees and as such, they are not covered by the statutory framework for employees on issues such as maternity leave.
Councilors will have the same rights as female employees and those who have made the necessary PRSI contributions by creating a legal provision allowing them to take maternity leave under the Maternity Protection Act of 1994.
Separately, under the new rules, councillors will receive cash for additional administrative support for the duration of their maternity leave if they prefer not to have a replacement but still need more help in that area.
As a result, they will be able to hire someone on a weekly basis to help with secretarial tasks.
Despite the fact that there is new legislation today to address maternity leave for councillors, the government has not made any headway in addressing maternity leave for ministers, even though Justice Minister Helen McEntee will soon begin maternity leave.
According to sources, a referendum will be required to decide on such a legislation the following year.
Peter Burke, the Minister of State responsible for Local Government and Planning, expressed his satisfaction at the Bill's advancement. The Bill has already undergone pre-legislative review with the Joint Oireachtas Committee and garnered significant bipartisan support.
"Although the system has long mandated maternity leave for council members, it took some time to determine the right course of action because members of our local governments hold offices rather than are paid employees. Every councilor's circumstance will be different, so above all, a choice would need to be made if the system was to be adopted, all of the female councillors I assembled last year stressed to me.
This law provides a choice as a result. Council members will have the option to have someone fill in for them while they are on leave after the law is put into effect, he continued.
"This would apply to all meetings, votes, and other aspects of the function. In the past, I was aware of instances in which council members felt under pressure to attend crucial votes or debates when they should have been at home taking care of a newborn. If you can't completely unplug from work during your maternity leave, it's not a credible leave, according to the minister.
According to him, this new regulation will address a deficit "that simply should not exist in a workplace in the twenty-first century."
The minister criticized Ireland's "shamefully low" percentage of women serving in local and national administration.
“I believe this measure will remove another obstacle and allow us to make the role of a councillor more accessible to half of our population. I look forward to introducing this legislation in the Oireachtas in the coming weeks,” said Burke.
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