Councillors will be entitled to take maternity leave for the first time after Ministers approved the legislation on Tuesday.
The scheme was initiated by Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government Peter Burke and a memo seeking approval for draft legislation was brought to Cabinet by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien.
The proposed law will also offer a councillor the choice of appointing a “substitute councillor”. This will not only cover maternity-related absences but would also be available to councillors who are absent due to illness.
Mr Burke, a Longford-Westmeath TD, said there was a lengthy process of engagement with councillors, legal advisers and officials regarding the measure.
“This will allow us to address a deficit which should not exist in a 21st century workplace, to provide full maternity leave for our councillors,” he said. “The rate of female participation in both local and national government is shamefully low, and 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.”
The anomaly that exists at present is that female councillors are office holders rather than employees and, as such, are not covered by existing employee statutes.
The draft legislation proposes to make a specific legislative provision for female councillors to access maternity leave under the Maternity Protection Act 1994. Councillors will be entitled to the same rights as female employees, and those with the relevant PRSI contributions.
Mr Burke also said that the law would go further than that with a right to choose an individual to replace them while they are on leave.
“I was aware of situations where councillors felt under pressure to turn up to important votes or debates when they needed to be at home caring for a new baby. It is not credible maternity leave if you cannot fully switch off from your work,” he said.
If a councillor does not wish to have a substitute but would prefer administrative support, regulations will provide for financial cover for the cost of that assistance. Councillors will be entitled to six months maternity leave, but can extend the period in the same way as if they were an employee.
“As we remove and address more obstacles to increased female participation in local government, we will see more equality of representation in our councils and they can finally become more reflective of the communities that they serve,” Mr Burke said.
In the 2019 local elections, 226 women candidates were elected, 24 per cent of the total number of councillors.
