The Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council will be the first councillor in Ireland to be able to take maternity leave.
Fine Gael's Thomasina Connell will benefit from a recent change in the Local Government laws.
That legislation, passed on Thursday, went through just days after Norman Connell was born.
Councillor Connell says this change removes one of the barriers that was putting women off going into politics.
