Childers latest Dublin councillor to resign

NESSA CHILDERS of the Green Party has become the latest councillor to resign her seat because of the demands of work.

Ms Childers, the daughter of former President Erskine Childers, has resigned from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council with less than a year to go to the next local elections.

Ms Childers, who is a psychoanalyst, was elected to the council in 2004, and has been a prominent member of the Green Party since then.

"I am leaving with a heavy heart as I loved being a public representative, but the two jobs are incompatible at the moment," she said.

Ms Childers, who will remain a member of the Green Party, is the latest in a long line of councillors to resign their seats on one of Dublin's four local authorities since the last local elections.

In the past two years 17 councillors have left 52-member Dublin City Council alone, while Dún Laoghaire, South Dublin and Fingal have also suffered from resignations.

Ms Childers is the second Green Party member to leave the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council in the past year.

In December, Kealin Ireland resigned and was replaced by Gene Feighery.

The workload involved in being a councillor and the timing of committee meetings during the day in Dublin local authorities has made it difficult for those in full-time paid employment to perform their duties.

Councillors are paid around €17,000 a year plus expenses.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times