Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I held a public meeting six or seven years ago on ageing and ageism. One of the most dramatic moments at my public meeting was a woman, not unlike Ms Gallagher, stating that she had to retire upon her marriage. She cried. She was approaching 65 years of age and had to retire again. I congratulate Ms Gallagher on her statement at this meeting. I am not allowed to state my reasons but I would like to put on the record the fact that if there was age discrimination in the Oireachtas, Senators Quinn and Ó Murchú and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, would not have been able to contribute their experience. Nor would President Higgins. I would love to express my reasons that I stated in the Seanad but I will give the killer sentence instead. The witnesses and those elsewhere who are approaching retirement know the heartbreak and trauma faced by people who go over the cliff's edge of compulsory retirement at 60 or 65 years of age. I would love to have had the opportunity to say everything but that is the bottom line. It is a cliff's edge. Many people's health deteriorates after they have had to retire. We are not forcing anyone to retire. If people wish, they should stay on in the job and negotiate the hours that they want to do. I am fully supportive of this Bill.