Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State. From day one he has done an extraordinary job. I know this has been a personal mission of his to ensure that this provision was included. At one stage I tabled an amendment on the motion on the Moorhead report and the assurances he gave at that point were that we were going to have provisions for maternity leave for councillors. It is very important that we have democracy and inclusion at that local level because our daily quality of life is in the hands of local councils and they do an extraordinary job.

I also pay tribute to the fact that we have the temporary absences also included. While we have been focusing on maternity, that is an important aspect of the issue. Should life circumstances arrive at one's door over the five-year period, there is now an opportunity to put forward a bona fide reason and take time off.I commend the work of Councillor Lorraine Hall, the AILG, LAMA and Women for Election. I pay tribute to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, who, while not at council level, has modelled how this could be done. I acknowledge the work of Deputy Carroll MacNeill, who set out the possibility that we would have an amendment to the Constitution to facilitate remote voting in the Dáil and the Seanad in order to facilitate Members going on maternity leave and other such instances.

An awful lot of work has been done. This is an extraordinary achievement, and it is a great day. I thank the Minister of State for all his hard work.