Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is quite extraordinary the two-dimensional thinking and approach from Deputy McDonald and the Sinn Féin Party more generally.

They say one thing in this House and do the exact opposite in Northern Ireland on the Executive, for example. The Deputy calls for a pension age of 65 years here, yet in Northern Ireland last October the exact opposite happened after Sinn Féin voted for the pension age to be increased from 65 to 66 years. Everything the Deputy has thrown at me can be thrown at her with respect to what her party supported in Northern Ireland.

Deputy McDonald says the rate is too low when a 65-year-old on €203 in the Republic is still receiving a higher payment than every single pensioner in Northern Ireland regardless of age. Where is the fairness or respect for people there? I have noted in the last week alone, between Sinn Féin's proposals on fuel allowance and the pension, that it has essentially looked for about €4.5 billion in spending in only seven days, and that is only from one Department. We can discuss on another day how the Deputy or her party believes all that can be sorted.

In the context of the election and subsequently, we did not win a majority but we did decide to go into government and form a coalition with the Green Party and the Fine Gael Party. Pension issues formed part of those negotiations. The programme for Government was very clear that those aged 65 years who are required or choose to retire early can receive an early retirement allowance or pension at the same rate as jobseeker's benefit without a requirement to sign on, partake in activation measures or be available for and genuinely seeking work. We introduced that new payment and we have fulfilled the programme for Government commitment on that to bridge the gap for people who were required to retire at 65 but do not qualify for the State pension until aged 66.

The increase in the pension age to 67 years, which was proposed prior to the general election and which we opposed, did not go ahead in January. The pension age was kept at 66 years. That was an outcome of the negotiations between the three parties in the formulation of the programme for Government. The decision not to allow the pension age to go to 67 years will cost €453 million.

Obviously, there is a wider issue around pension sustainability into the future. The Department of Social Protection will spend about €25 billion this year. Over 40% of that, about €9 billion, will be spend on pension payments alone. The Pensions Commission has been established to examine a range of issues and Deputy McDonald's party can make a submission to it. The commission is examining mandatory retirement ages in employment contracts where that age is below the State pension age. It is due to report back to Government later this year. It is important to be honest with people that the sustainability of pensions over the coming decades will be challenging for the State. That is why the Pensions Commission represents a very good context to try to outline how the State will meet its obligations and organise society into the future as we live longer and our demographics change significantly.

To make another key point, the State pension age has never been at 65 years. There was previously a transition pension which was abolished by the then Minister, Joan Burton, in 2014. The State pension age is 66 years. That has been the case since 1977.

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