Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I very much support the calls made by all the witnesses to lift the mandatory retirement age. We have heard a very powerful case, psychologically, financially and in so many other ways, for why it is important people should not be told they are no longer fit for work just because of their birthday. We know that should not be the case and that people want to work longer. Something earlier in the discussion struck me. While life expectancy has increased in Ireland, the rate of healthy life expectancy has increased at a higher rate. However, we also know people have to work and we can look in particular at the number of people who are now having to rent in their 50 and 60s. I am thinking of three divorcees in their 60s who have come to me in the past week. They have only a small lump sum from the proceeds of the family home and effectively face that nightmare of how they are going to rent.

The Bill is certainly a start. It very much just streamlines with the existing pensions system. Picking up on Age Action's disappointment that the general scheme really only lifts mandatory retirement to pension age, the elephant in the room in that regard is the interaction with occupational pension schemes. Ms Murphy and perhaps Dr. O'Connor as well might speak to how Age Action envisages the changes that would need to be made to occupational pension schemes to facilitate the lifting of a mandatory pension age. A pension age tends to be from day one of a contract of employment and obviously there are challenges there, if I can say that.