Confusion followed news reports in The Irish Times last week that revealed a TD and Senator had been paid travel expenses by the Oireachtas while they were on leave.
The Irish Times reported that Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns repaid just over €8,500 in travel and accommodation expenses that were mistakenly paid to her by the Oireachtas while she was on maternity leave last year.
Separately, the paper reported that Fianna Fáil senator Imelda Goldsboro was paid €16,799 in travel and accommodation expenses while out sick for eight months.
When asked if she would repay €16,799 travel expenses paid to her while on sick leave, Goldsboro appeared to confuse salary and expenses. Initially, she said she did not think repaying the expenses was necessary and that she had continued working as a Senator while on leave.
Her party later said in a statement on her behalf that she was engaging with the Houses of the Oireachtas about the payments.
The Social Democrats, replying on behalf of Cairns to questions about the travel expenses paid to her while she was on maternity leave, said questions should be asked of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform about a “serious and discriminatory flaw in the maternity leave scheme for Oireachtas members”.
The party said: “Deputy Cairns is marked present, on the Dáil record, for the entirety of her maternity leave because she was required to submit sick certificates for the duration of her maternity leave. If she had not done this, she would have been marked absent on the Dáil record, rather than on maternity leave, and she would have been penalised financially when she returned to work.”*
The debate about the need for maternity leave for women politicians has had a positive impact. It has made it more acceptable to take leave, and it has encouraged women into politics. However, it is also important the debate doesn’t become all about the politicians rather than the people they represent.
The Oireachtas is not some faceless institution with a HR department, and TDs and Senators as its employees. TDs are not employees at all; they are office holders. They are paid their salary regardless of whether they attend the Dáil or not. The only time a TD is required to attend the Oireachtas is for one day in a Dáil term to sign the roll of elected members. The same applies to Senators.
As a former TD and Senator who had a child while I was a member of the Seanad, I have found it frustrating over the years to see the situation regarding maternity leave for TDs and Senators misrepresented. Under article 15 of the Constitution of Ireland, the responsibility for making the law that governs the salaries and expenses of TDs and Senators rests with the Oireachtas.
[ FF Senator paid €16,700 in travel expenses while sick at home for eight monthsOpens in new window ]
It is TDs and Senators who make the laws and Ministers who make the regulations. The 11 member Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, which includes nine members of the Oireachtas, implements them. Politicians make the rules about the travel and accommodation allowance and politicians can change the rules.
Much of the debate has seemed to suggest that TDs and Senators have fewer rights than employees in relation to maternity leave. This couldn’t be further from the truth. TDs and Senators can take leave of unlimited duration on full pay. They keep their staff and can claim expenses.
Employees, on the other hand, must give their employer at least four weeks’ written notice that they plan to take maternity leave. They must provide a medical certificate confirming their pregnancy. Entitlement to maternity benefit is dependent on having the necessary PRSI contributions. The standard rate before tax is €299 a week. There is no legal requirement for employers to pay their employees on maternity leave. Some employees don’t qualify for maternity benefit.
Now it’s time for the focus to move to what TDs and Senators can do to improve the maternity leave system for employees.
Joanna Tuffy is a Labour Party councillor for Dublin Mid-West
*An earlier version of this piece stated that the only situation in which sick certificates are needed for maternity leave “is if a TD or Senator does not want to lose a portion of their travel accommodation allowance in respect of missed attendance at the Oireachtas”. This was not correct as there is a financial penalty when a TD or Senator on maternity leave asks the Oireachtas to stop their monthly travel and accommodation allowance payments for part of a year. As the Social Democrats correctly stated, if party leader Holly Cairns had not submitted a sick certificate, she would have been penalised financially when she returned to work. Such financial penalties can only be addressed by an application to the Oireachtas to reconcile the attendance record accompanied by a medical certificate.
