Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I too warmly welcome this legislation. It is really important that this substitute system be available now to women who have a baby. It is important, however, as others have said, to say that this is only a first step. It is in some ways ironic that we have the publication of the recommendations of the Committee on Gender Equality today. Some of the issues are pay, access, the hours of meetings and technology. As Senator Seery Kearney and I am sure others have mentioned, the inability to vote remotely in these Houses is also an issue.

However, not every woman will want to take this up. I was fortunate to be elected when I was pregnant with my third baby. I came and felt I had to come to meetings ten days after my baby was born. I know, however, that I would never have been able to do that on the birth of my first baby because I was not seen outside the house for the first seven weeks as I was breastfeeding my baby and was simply not able. Women will make different choices, but it is vital we have a choice as to whether to take that maternity cover. I know that the substitute system is available to councillors. Dublin City Council staff and officials were brilliant to me during that time in my life when I was a councillor and had just had my baby.

Lastly, some concerns have been articulated about the design of the substitute cover. My colleague, Senator Moynihan, raised those questions this morning. We would like to hear from the Minister of State on that. The message has to go out that this is a really important system, a system that needs to be availed of and a system that cannot be abused, and the design needs to be got right.