Cross-party group to discuss maternity leave for councillors

A cross-party all-female working group will meet for the first time on Monday to examine the provision of maternity leave for city and county councillors.

Six female councillors from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the Green Party and Labour, as well as an Independent councillor, will meet on Monday with the Fine Gael Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Peter Burke, who convened the subgroup.

There are currently no legal provisions for ministers, TDs, senators or councillors to take maternity leave if they become pregnant.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Burke said consideration of maternity leave for female politicians was “long overdue” and that he planned for measures to be introduced “as soon as possible”.

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“If we want to increase female participation and retain the talent we have in local government, we must take steps now to address one of the main barriers to female representation; lack of maternity leave and policies which do not favour family life,” he said.

‘Huge barrier’

The launch of the working group follows a call last month from the Dublin City Council Women's Committee for urgent action to enable sitting councillors to avail of maternity leave. It also follows criticisms by Green Party councillor Clare O'Byrne, who resigned from her local authority seat a few months after giving birth and said the lack of maternity leave was a "huge barrier" for women in politics.

Ms O’Byrne told The Irish Times she felt “incredible pressure to get back to work as soon as possible” after her daughter was born. She said that if there was maternity leave for councillors – perhaps with someone to respond to constituents’ queries – she would not have felt the same pressure and guilt, and she would have “very much” considered staying on as a councillor.

Mr Burke underlined the coalition’s programme for government committed to increasing female participation in local and national politics and said council chambers should “reflect the make-up of society”.

“For too long, women have been under-represented in politics and right now we are failing dismally at achieving equality of representation. While the reasons for this are complex, I am confident that introducing maternity leave will provide support for female candidates and politicians and enable increased participation in the years to come.”

Sinn Féin’s Joanna Byrne, the Green Party’s Darcy Lonergan, Labour’s Elena Secas, Fine Gael’s Lorraine Hall, Fianna Fáil’s Norma Moriarty and Independent councillor Karey McHugh Farag make up the membership of the new working group.

Minister without portfolio

Earlier this month, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee announced she would remain a member of the Government as a Minister without a portfolio when she takes six months’ maternity leave from April 20th. Ms McEntee is the first Cabinet Minister in the history of the State to be pregnant in office.

In a seemingly ad-hoc arrangement, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys, who is also Minister for Rural and Community Development, will take on a third justice portfolio while Ms McEntee is on leave.

In February, chair of the Dublin City Council Women’s Committee, Green Party councillor Darcy Lonergan, said legal provisions were needed for councillors seeking to avail of maternity leave.

Ms Lonergan noted that two Green party councillors – Claire Byrne and Janice Boylan – had felt pressured to return to work just two weeks after giving birth.

“An ideal system would allow for a substitute, so our constituents are still represented, and we don’t feel pressure and guilt about taking the time that we and our baby need.”

Ms Byrne recalled how she was breastfeeding and had to leave her baby at home and then “run back home straight after the important votes were cast”.

“With no maternity leave and no remote or proxy voting, as a new mother you are completely compromised in trying to keep up your role as councillor and balance motherhood,” she said.