Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

A review is worthwhile because, as others have said, it is particularly dangerous for spouses and partners of councillors. I hear reports of people losing social welfare payments because their partners are councillors. This is happening. It has happened to one of our own and to several other councillors. The danger of the way it impacts on a family's income is that one will get council chambers populated by people who are retired or who otherwise have very flexible self-employment or business jobs.

I was a councillor for 11 years in an extremely busy ward. Not every councillor has the same workload, to be frank. It varies dramatically. There was massive development taking place in Fingal, for example, which meant it took hours on end every single week just to read the planning lists. In more settled areas, however, a councillor would have a much more stable workload. It is not a full-time job, although some councillors make it one because they decide to go to the opening of every envelope in the community. It should not be a full-time job. If it were to be one, we would need to review local government. In reality, local authorities have very few functions left. Bin services and water services are gone. There is practically no housing being built. Compared to the position a number of years ago, we must ask what councils are actually for when their powers have successively been taken away from them by a number of Governments.

I raise the issue of maternity leave. When I was on the council, I had a baby and was informed by the Department of Social Protection that I would lose my maternity benefit as a teacher if I went to a council meeting or fulfilled my council duties. Officials on the council batted on my behalf, however. To receive maternity payments, one is meant to be sitting at home with one's child at all times, which is complete discrimination against anyone who can become pregnant.

What we are saying then is that there is no maternity leave and a woman has to take time off. The councillor would be absent for six months, which is simply impossible for her.

The child benefit section of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection needs to be spoken to about its handling of, and dealings with, female councillors. It is quite stressful for anyone in that situation. A woman has a baby and then finds out she may lose her maternity benefits because she happens to have been elected as a councillor. She might wish to continue going to meetings or reduce her workload or keep it at a certain level. Then she is told in a patronising fashion that she is meant to be 100% at home with her child to keep maternity benefits. Clearly, the message is that women are not meant to be councillors if that is to continue. We know there is under-representation. It is the same for all people with young children, unless they have a wealthy background or a good job that is flexible. There should be a system introduced whereby people can get leave from work. Otherwise, we will continue to have the type of councillors we have and not necessarily people who come from across the workforce, including the private sector and the public sector, which is what we need.