The Minister only began her maternity leave on Wednesday evening.

Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, has given birth to a baby boy, who arrived at 9.20pm on Wednesday night. McEntee, who began her maternity leave on Wednesday of this week, welcomed the baby with her husband Paul Hickey. In the history of the State, this was the first time that a sitting Cabinet Minister has taken maternity leave. The Meath East Fine Gael TD attended her final Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, before Minister Heather Humphreys took over her portfolio on a temporary basis. McEntee said at the time: “It’s really important that women see other women in roles and positions being able to take maternity leave, being able to return to their jobs and return to the positions that they were working in before. “Most importantly, what I hope to see in the future is that this won’t just apply to me but that other ministers, TDs, senators, councillors, will be able to avail of maternity leave." Back in March, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that Minister McEntee would take paid maternity leave and would remain a member of the Government without a portfolio until her return.