John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for his fairness and wish him and everyone else a happy Christmas. Last week, the Government announced that it was bringing forward plans to increase the retirement age from 65 to 70 for public service workers. It is a small step in the right direction but it does not go far enough. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform brought forward interim arrangements to allow those public service workers to retire. Those interim arrangements include conditions that those employees have to retire first before being re-employed and can only be re-employed on a lower pay scale. There are serious concerns about this. It is giving the message to those who want to remain in the workforce that they are not wanted. Who was consulted in respect of bringing forward these interim arrangements? When will we see the legislation to govern the extension of retirement age?

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