Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 69 together.

The Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Bill 2018, which provides for an increase in the compulsory retirement age to 70 for public servants recruited prior to 1 April 2004, was published on Monday, 9 July 2018. It passed all Stages in the Seanad on Tuesday, 17 July, and completed Second Stage in the Dáil on 7 November. Committee Stage is provisionally scheduled for 11 December 2018.

While scheduling of time for the enactment of legislation is ultimately a matter for the Oireachtas itself through the Business Committee, my intention is to ensure enactment as soon as possible.

Once the Bill is enacted and commenced, the vast majority of public servants recruited prior to 1 April 2004 will have a new compulsory retirement age of 70. For the most part, those public servants currently have a compulsory retirement age of 65.

Until the commencement of the Bill, the current compulsory retirement age continues to apply and public servants reaching the age of 65 are required to retire. To accommodate public servants who reach the age of 65 in the period between the Government decision to increase the retirement age and the commencement of the necessary legislation, I arranged for the introduction of interim measures.

The interim arrangements, which must respect the current statutory position of the compulsory retirement age of 65, provide a temporary solution to affected public servants by allowing them to be rehired for a period of one year, until they reach the age of eligibility for the State pension, which is 66. Existing retire and rehire arrangements are being used to accommodate affected public servants in each sector.

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