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

Yesterday, on the proposal of the Minister for Finance, the Cabinet approved the preparation of legislation necessary to raise the compulsory retirement age from 65 years of age to 70 for public servants who were recruited before 1 April 2004. Public servants recruited after that date are not required to retire at 65 years of age, but many of those recruited before then are subject to that obligation. The legislation will be introduced as soon as possible. It will not, of course, be a requirement for employees to remain in work until they are 70 years of age, but they will now have a choice to stay on, by mutual agreement with the employer. I do not have plans to move the money message in respect of Deputy John Brady's Bill. His proposals are problematic, not least because there is no money allocated for them in the budget and, second, because there is no mandatory retirement age in the private sector. There is significant case law on how employees may challenge their contract. A compulsory retirement age may be included in a contract, but it is not a statutory provision.

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