Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for the question. He indicated he had submitted a proposal to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton. I would also be very happy to receive the submission. There is an issue of balancing. Many older people wish and need to work longer to build up their pension entitlements for when they are retired, particularly women who might have been out of the labour force because they were on family duties during part of their working years. Some older people may wish to reduce the number of hours they work, but there are also older people who definitely want to stay working. The Polish Presidency of the EU has been holding a number of discussions on the issue. There is no absolute link between older people retiring and those jobs being made available and created for younger people. In some cases the jobs may simply be suppressed entirely.

I understand the Deputy's motivation and perhaps the watchword is to try to produce a flexible system for what people may wish to do as they approach retirement. Up to approximately 2007, there was a pre-retirement payment that was abolished by the previous Government in 2007. That payment recognised that people who left work at a certain age were unlikely to resume working again or perhaps for health or other reasons did not. I understand and share the Deputy's concern.

Regarding jobs for young people, we have just created the national internship scheme, which is designed to do some of what the Deputy is suggesting. We are beginning to roll it out and seeing the first people getting six and nine-month internships with employers in a variety of occupations throughout the country. I would be delighted to receive the Deputy's submission and I share his concerns. However, I am not sure it is possible to match older retiring workers exactly with younger people.

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