Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

Like previous speakers on both sides of the House, I welcome the introduction of this Bill and compliment the Minister on it. I acknowledge that much work had been done on it by the previous Minister, the late Brian Lenihan. Fianna Fáil colleagues have now left the Chamber, but they were keen to point out that this was their work, while criticising its elements that came from the current Government. It is worth mentioning therefore that the work done in this regard by the last Fianna Fáil Government came 13 years too late. Much of what is being done now, not just in this Bill but in every Department by every member of the Government, is putting out the many fires that were left burning by the previous Fianna Fáil Administration.

Every western country with demographic changes in its population ratios is being forced to make changes. As is so often the case, the difference in Ireland is that our correction has to be far more severe and significant. It is entirely wrong to say that all the changes are demographically based, however. In recent years, we have unquestionably put the State into a position where it was paying far too much in pensions and retirement packages. Other developed countries managed to hold their growth levels at around 3% and have also managed to cap pension increases to achieve sustainability. They understand the important reality that the younger generation of every state is obliged to pay for the retired population. Every society is judged by how it looks after the elderly. In this regard, the Bill shows the Government's strong commitment to those who will retire from the public service. There is no dilution of that ambition. In fact, the purpose of the legislation is to ensure the State will strike a fair balance between those who work and those who benefit from retirement packages.

It is important to focus on the ratios that are being discussed. We will move from a position where there are six people at work for every retired person, to one where there will be two workers for every retiree. We must therefore continue to work towards having sufficient employment growth so the latter ratio may not become a reality. In different ways, many other countries have managed, with low birthrates, to keep that ratio from moving to such a disadvantageous position as two to one.

The Government has been criticised for the recent pension levy, with the Opposition saying that it did not provide the required stimulus. That levy has been in place for only a few months, so it is nonsensical to suggest we should see immediate benefits from it. In all its actions, the former Government sought only to deliver an immediate solution for an instant soundbite of publicity. It did not have the foresight to help citizens.

The Government is trying to secure new employment. The more damaging element of our public finances, however, is that the ratio of people eligible for work to retirees is potentially moving from 6:1 to 2:1. In addition, with unemployment levels of 14% we clearly need to work extremely hard to secure future employment. Ultimately that is how a developed and well functioning society will work when people are paying their taxes, thus allowing workers to retire at a reasonable age.

We have managed to arrive at a point where life expectancy has increased significantly, which should be welcomed by society. While it creates clear problems for the provision of pensions, it also means that extending the retirement age is entirely reasonable. If the retirement age was to stay as it is, a significant majority would be spending more of their adult life in retirement than at work. In purely economic terms, that is an unsustainable position.

As the economy continues on its current upward path, we should examine schemes that would allow people approaching retirement age to move into job-sharing schemes, thus permitting a smoother transition from employment to retirement. There is huge potential in that regard.

I commend the Bill and acknowledge that there is support for it from Fianna Fáil. In this instance, they were required by the troika to put it in place. I hope they will endeavour in some small way to be more objective about the good work being done by the Government, and not just focus on the work the previous Government rather tardily brought before us.

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