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The right for TDs and Senators to taken maternity leave must be “fast-tracked” before the next general election once politicians return from the summer recess, a Fianna Fáil Senator has said.
Senator Fiona O’Loughlin, who is Chairwoman of the Oireachtas Women’s Caucus, was speaking about legislation that was recently approved by Government that would introduce a statutory right to maternity leave for members of the Oireachtas.
The Government approved the drafting of a Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024 in July, and it has been referred to the Office of the Attorney General for drafting.
“The statutory right to maternity leave for Oireachtas Members is something that I have consistently called for as Chair of the Women’s Caucus and I have had a number of meetings with Minister O’Gorman on the matter,” O’Loughlin said.
“I welcome the recent approval by Government for the drafting of legislation that would introduce maternity leave for Oireachtas members.
“It is vital that this legislation is now fast-tracked as much as possible.”
The Senator added that it was “simply not right” that certain members of the Oireachtas would have no statutory right in this area.
“We have a situation where Deputy Holly Cairns has announced her pregnancy, and I wish her very well with it, but it is simply not right that she has no statutory right to maternity leave,” she said.
“What is important now is that we absolutely need to have this legislation in place in time for the next mandate for women who will be coming into the Oireachtas.”
She also urged the introduction of paternity leave for Oireachtas members at the same time.
“I am also calling for the introduction of paternity leave for Oireachtas members,” the Senator said.
“While the Minister has said that we need to have the maternity leave in place first, which I agree with, it is still beyond time for this and we need to get it resolved as quickly as we possibly can.”
While public servants have statutory rights to six months’ paid maternity leave, as do Councillors, no such law exists for Oireachtas members.
However, TDs have taken maternity leave before, up to and including Ministers. In 2021, Justice Minister Helen McEntee took six months of paid maternity leave, and another six months of paid maternity leave in 2022.
In 2022, then-Minster of State Peter Burke said he hoped a referendum on female Oireachtas members having maternity leave would be held along with a proposal to scrap the Constitution’s reference to “women in the home.” He said at the time that to extend maternity leave to TDs and Senators would “potentially need a change to the Constitution.”
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