Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleagues, Deputies O'Reilly and Kerrane, for bringing forward this important motion.

As other speakers have mentioned, increasing the pension age was a significant issue on the doorsteps in the last general election. I did not hear anyone disagree with our proposal at any of the meetings or debates I attended, so I do not think there will be any difficulty with everyone supporting the motion before the House this evening.

As a society, we should be striving to ensure that if people want to retire at 65, the choice is theirs. If people want to continue to work, that is their personal choice but they should not have to continue to work. People should be able to retire at 65 if they wish. A number of employment contracts stipulate an end-of-employment date in line with when an employee turns 65. Since the abolition of the State pension transition payment, thousands of 65-year-olds have had to sign on for a jobseeker's payment. I have come across many people who do not want to put themselves through the experience of having to sign on for any sort of transitional payment. They feel they have worked hard. Many of those we are talking about have been working since they were teenagers. They feel they should be able to get the pension at 65 rather than having to avail of an in-between payment or jobseeker's allowance.

I also wish to refer to women in the context of pensions. Although women outnumber men among the over-65 age cohort, women only account for a third of those in receipt of a full State contributory pension. The National Women's Council of Ireland, NWCI, has called for a rethink of our pension policy to become one that places equality and living with dignity in older years at the centre. I wish to mention that in particular because once again we have women being failed by the State. I do not think any of us are surprised by that at this stage, but it is an important issue.

Many people in receipt of a pension have often said they feel like a forgotten category in the country. Their cost of living has increased and every now and again they get a paltry €5 increase. It is important that we remember them. The cost of living does not reduce just because one turns 65 or 66. Sometimes, it is very difficult for elderly people to live on a pension, in particular when they are more dependent on medical services and have increased fuel costs. We are great at setting up age-friendly initiatives and other such initiatives, but we are not very good at following through on actions that support them.

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