A Kerry county councillor who admits she struggled to juggle her council duties with the demands of motherhood, says new proposed legislation to introduce maternity leave for councillors, is likely to bring more women into politics.
Cllr Aoife Thornton was a sitting Fine Gael councillor and Mayor of the Listowel Municipal District, while pregnant with her third child five years ago.
At the time, county councillors were not entitled to maternity leave and she says the competing demands of parenthood and council duties often left her stressed and sleep deprived.
She says this partially explains why there's currently only four female representatives on the 33-member Kerry County Council.
However she believes that plans by Government to introduce maternity leave for councillors, due to be enacted later this year, will make politics more attractive for women.
Cllr Thornton says it's vital that more women are involved in policy-making at local government level:
