Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this motion to the House. It is important that it did so because there seems to be a dragging of feet by the Government in introducing the legislation that is needed. I welcome the statements by the Taoiseach and the Minister that the promised legislation to defer the increase to 67 years of age for State pension eligibility is to be introduced next week. It is better late than never. With only four weeks to go, people due to retire next year have been put through an unnecessary period of extreme anxiety. I have had many people contacting me to ask what is going on and whether they can retire next year. That uncertainty was absolutely unnecessary and the matter could have been dealt with well before now.

The difference between the full State contributory pension and a jobseeker's payment is more than €45 per week, or €2,300 per year. It is a considerable difference. While I welcome the deferral in the increase in the pension age, what is really needed is to scrap the proposal altogether and return the pension age to 65. The deferral is for six months to allow for a report by the commission on pensions. It is extremely disappointing that the Minister did not see fit to include any representation for the Stop67 campaign on the commission. That campaign is made up of the National Women's Council of Ireland, Age Action Ireland and Active Retirement Ireland. Those organisations, representing pensioners, had called for a stakeholders' forum made up not of people appointed by the Minister but those who depend solely on the State pension for their income. As Age Action Ireland put it, the proposed commission on pensions is a commission "about us but without us".

The roadmap for pension reform introduced by the previous Government included a commitment to benchmarking the contributory State pension at 34% of the average weekly wage by the end of 2018. That commitment has not been implemented and the current value of the pension is 32% of the average wage. The proposal by Age Action Ireland for a €5 increase each year for three years was ignored in the budget. I support the proposal in the motion, first raised in the national pensions framework, to reduce tax relief on private pensions to 33%, thereby freeing up funds for the State pension and helping to reduce the high levels of income inequality among older people. I also support the motion's call for the abolition of mandatory retirement and for those who continue working after 65 to have their PRSI contributions taken into account in assessing their pension entitlements.

The increase in the age of eligibility for the State pension was a huge issue during the election campaign. We all know that from knocking on doors. Fine Gael and the Labour Party felt the brunt of it because it was they who introduced the increase. I warn the Green Party Members to think about that. People are still watching and waiting and they will take them on at the next election if they do not bring the pension age back to 65.

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