The Minister of State for Local Government and Planning at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Peter Burke T.D., has welcomed the passing of the Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Elected Members in Local Authorities) Bill 2022, which passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas today (Thursday December 15).
“I am delighted that this progressive Bill has been passed by the Oireachtas. The legislation gives, for the first time, an entitlement of maternity leave to local councillors,” outlined Minister of State Burke.
“The absence of maternity leave has long been identified as an obstacle to the participation of women in local government. In the twenty first century, I found this absence was unacceptable. This Bill rectifies that anomaly”.
As part of the Bill, elected members availing of maternity leave may nominate a temporary substitute to undertake the role and duties of a Councillor for a maximum of 42 weeks, in line with the statutory leave afforded to employees.
Minister Burke went on to say: “The provision of a temporary substitute will allow for an elected member to undertake a ‘clean break’ from work. It ensures that councillors can take full maternity leave and are under no unnecessary pressure to return to work ahead of time or to be available for votes or meetings”.
“The Bill will be supported by a robust set of Regulations which will provide, where an elected member is availing of maternity leave but wishes to continue in her role as a councillor, she can access an administrative support allowance to help her to maintain the running of her office. A weekly vouched allowance of €234 will be made available for this purpose.” Minister Burke concluded, “I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the development of this Bill – councillors, political parties, women’s organisations and members of the Oireachtas. I am grateful for the cross-party support received by the legislation.
“With only 24% of our Councillors women, we must redouble our efforts to make the role more accessible to all people and communities, regardless of gender. Through targeted measures like maternity leave, funding initiatives and improvements in pay, I am confident we will see progress at the next local elections so that our council chambers will be more reflective of the societies they serve.”
ENDS
Notes for Editor/Further Information
By comparison to many EU countries, Ireland has a low rate of female participation in local government. Most recently, in the 2019 local elections, only 24% of elected members were women. This Bill eliminates one of the identified barriers that prevents women from getting involved in local government, by introducing formal maternity leave for local authority elected members.
The Bill also provides that elected members availing of maternity leave may nominate a temporary substitute for the period of their absence. In order to ensure an equality of approach, the Bill provides that the possibility of the appointment of a temporary substitute would also be available in the case of an elected member who is absent for an extended period due to illness or in good faith for another reason.
In reaching this stage, extensive consultation has been undertaken with a range of stakeholders. A cross political party working group of women councillors was established by Minister of State Burke in 2021 and asked specifically to examine all maternity-related matters for councillors. The group provided greater understanding of the needs of women councillors in relation to maternity supports and reinforced the need for maternity leave and additional supports for councillors.
There was also active engagement with councillor representative organisations on this issue. The Association of Irish Local Government (AILG), in particular, submitted detailed policy proposals in the matter. The Department has also engaged with women’s groups involved in promoting the participation of women in local government, notably the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), Women for Election and See Her Elected (SHE).