Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, it is important to say there is no statutory retirement age in Ireland. No one is required to retire at any particular age in Ireland. However, some people have employment contracts that require them to retire earlier than they might like to. Often, the requirement is at 65 years of age. That requirement is no longer aligned with the pension age, which is 66 years of age.

In the private sector, employment equality legislation is already in place to allow people to challenge attempts by the employer to require them to retire at 65 years, rather than 66 years. The Workplace Relations Commission is drawing up a code of conduct around that. It will be legally enforceable and legally binding. That should be concluded in the coming months. The law may well already be in place but we need a code of conduct to ensure the law is acted on and is made manifest in the workplace.

The public sector is slightly different because it is governed by statute. I met the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, last week. This is one of the issues that the Minister and his Department expect to talk to the unions about in the context of the negotiations in and around the extension or replacement of the Lansdowne Road agreement this year.

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