The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, has welcomed Cabinet approval on proposals for maternity leave and other supports for local authority elected members.
As it stands, local authority elected members are office holders rather than employees, so are not covered under the statutory framework for employee protection on maternity leave. The proposal brought by the Minister to Cabinet is to bring councillors under the Maternity Protection Act and deem them to be employees for the purpose of that Act only.
Commenting Minister O’Brien said, “For too long Councillors all over Ireland, including here in Fingal, have had to seek ‘sick notes’ to allow them absent themselves from duties if they wished to take leave to have their baby. That’s not right and we are going to change that.
“Under these proposals Councillors will soon have the choice to have an individual fill in for them while they are on maternity leave. This would apply for all votes, all meetings and all elements of the role.
“Separately, if a Councillor does not wish to have a substitute, but would like more administrative support, further regulations will be brought forward which will mean Councillors will be given funding for additional administrative assistance for the duration of their maternity leave. This will mean they can pay someone on a weekly basis to assist with secretarial work.
“These are flexible and practical proposals which recognise the realities of the role. They were informed by an all-female working group established last year, specifically to explore the provision of maternity leave and supports for County and City councillors. I believe it is important that we progress these proposals now without delay,” he concluded.
