Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1571. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount it would cost to pay all elected councillors maternity leave. [36409/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Maternity leave is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality. Maternity benefit is paid by my Department for the duration of statutory maternity leave and is based on payment of PRSI contributions while working.

New regulations were introduced in December 2016 whereby city and county councillors, in their capacity as public representatives, were brought into social insurance cover for the first time with effect from 1 January 2017. The new arrangements apply to city and county councillors with reckonable emoluments from their Local Authority positions.

As a result, city and county councillors, under age 66, who do not have another insurable employment or self-employment, now pay PRSI at Class S (4%). This means that they are now covered, as self-employed contributors, for a range of benefits - the state pension (contributory), widow’s, widower’s or surviving civil partner’s pension (contributory), guardian’s payment (contributory), maternity benefit, adoptive benefit, paternity benefit, treatment benefits (from March 2017) and invalidity pension (from December 2017).

Prior to the introduction of the new arrangements, city and county councillors had been, since 2011, liable to pay PRSI at Class K (4%) along with other office holders such as members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and the judiciary. PRSI Class K contributions do not provide cover for any social insurance benefit or pension.

Information in relation to the numbers of councillors who may be eligible for and avail of maternity benefit in future is not available and as such it is not possible to cost the Deputy’s question.