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A councilor for the GREEN PARTY has resigned from her post and criticized the lack of maternity leave for elected representatives.
Currently, Ireland has no legal provisions for DTs, senators or councilors to take maternity leave.
Public office holders have to claim sick leave when they take time off to have and care for their newborn baby.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee is currently pregnant and will become the first cabinet minister to give birth while in office.
The baby will be born in May and McEntee intends to take a six-month leave.
Clare O’Byrne, South Dublin County Council Councilor, has resigned from her post after the birth of her first child.
“With the arrival of my firstborn, I realized the impossibility of balancing my role as a new mother with that of a counselor,” O’Byrne said in a statement.
“The unavailability of maternity leave for elected representatives is a serious obstacle that prevents women from running and remaining in office.
“Things must change, not just for my daughter or the next generation of women in politics, but for this generation.”
O’Byrne has been a councilor since February 2020.
State Minister for Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan said participation is needed to uncover the changes required for women in politics.
“We can and must do better; we need to engage in a participatory process with women in politics to establish what changes are needed in terms of childcare, meeting hours and to move the role of the elected member more towards strategic policy making and broader and away from the current clientelist system, “Noonan said in a statement.
Yesterday, it was reported that former Justice Minister Nora Owen said she does not think the public would be “grateful” if a new minister was appointed to replace McEntee when she has her baby.
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The former Fine Gael politician said McEntee will face criticism from the public for taking leave, despite having the right to take time to care for her son.
He added that McEntee’s next absence would be “giving someone, somewhere, a lot of headaches.”
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