John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On that point, increasing the retirement age to 66 and leaving it there was a serious mistake on the part of the Department. People were forced to retire at 65 and sign up to a jobseeker's payment. The cost of reinstating the State transition pension is in and around €84 million, but abolishing the mandatory retirement age would dramatically reduce that I think. Perhaps the witnesses can elaborate on the impact on people of their having to retire against their will. People should be given the choice to continue working. Females should be able build up their contributions. Regarding the changes introduced in 2012, if they want to continue in the workforce, they should have an opportunity to do so, build up their contributions and get higher payments. I am sure there are a multitude of reasons people may not want to retire, and perhaps the witnesses will be able to outline some of them. I have spoken to many people about this. Mr. Moran is right that I have introduced a Bill to abolish the mandatory retirement age. Thankfully, it received cross-party support. It is due to proceed to Committee Stage and I hope it will continue to proceed through all Stages until the mandatory retirement age is abolished. Perhaps the witnesses could give their experiences of engaging with older people and the impact being forced to retire has on them.