Justice Minister Helen McEntee has given birth to her second child, a spokesperson has confirmed.
It comes just over two weeks after the Fine Gael TD went on maternity leave.
It is Ms McEntee’s second son with her husband Paul Hickey.
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A spokesperson confirmed that the baby boy was born in the Rotunda Hospital on Monday morning.
“Minister McEntee gave birth to a baby boy in the Rotunda Hospital this morning,” he said.
“Mam and baby are doing well, and the Minister and her husband Paul are delighted with the new arrival.”
Minister McEntee became the first woman to have a baby while serving at Cabinet when she gave birth to her son Michael in April 2021.
As there is no legal framework in place to allow ministers to take maternity leave, Ms McEntee has, for the second time, become a Minister without portfolio.
Her Fine Gael colleague Heather Humphreys has taken over the justice brief until the Cabinet reshuffle this Saturday.
It is unclear who will take over the portfolio thereafter, but it is expected that Ms McEntee will keep her ministry.
Before her maternity leave, Ms McEntee admitted that she would like to see a referendum take place to allow ministers to take maternity leave.
Ms McEntee continued: “I would like to ensure that women who come after me, and there will be many more after me, that they have the entitlement to take maternity leave that doesn't require a special arrangement.
“But I appreciate it's not something that's very, it's not straightforward.
“The challenge at the moment is that you can only have 15 [ministers].
“When the first cabinet was established, they perhaps didn't visualise it to be more than 15 or there might be a woman around the table.”
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