Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Three reasons were given by the officials. One was that some of those public sector workers may not have been re-hired in the role they were in and they may be in new roles. The second was that some of those workers no longer pay into the old pension scheme and, if they resumed employment on a permanent basis at the old salary scale they had left, then a new pension scheme would have to be put in place. The Minister of State might clarify if that is the case. The third reason was that if public sector workers were simply given the option of resuming work until the age of 70 under the same terms and conditions as exist under the current interim arrangements, they would receive significantly less in salary compared to workers who are turning 65. The argument was put forward that it is a principle of pay equality. I find this a bit strange, given we have no problem with 60,000 post-2011 entrants earning less than their colleagues for equivalent work. I do not agree with that reason, which I think is a bit of a red herring. With regard to the first two reasons, do we know the number of public sector workers under the circular who are in the roles they were in when they reached 65 and the number who have started new roles?