Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

My question is linked to the general question of the Bill. When one looks at it from the point of view of the individual, we are not forcing people to retire if they want to continue to work, and so on. However, it does take place in a social context, and that is the social context of attacks on pensions and cuts in pensions over years. What starts out as something voluntary, and in this case voluntary and with the agreement of the Minister, can over time morph into something that becomes the norm. The fact people are living longer and healthier lives just goes to become a benefit for the employer, as opposed to people having a long and healthy retirement. If it would lead to guarantees of decent pensions and so on, that is fair enough.

I would be interested to hear the responses of Deputy O'Brien and the Minister to that point. The social context is the flipside of that. Maybe it is a broader question. Has the Minister done any studies on it? If the option of working until the age of 70, rather than 75, were taken up by large numbers of public servants, what impact would that have on recruitment? We are talking about jobs that could go to people who are entering the workforce. Has any sort of impact study been done on that?