Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As much as the Government might want to ignore the message sent in the 2020 general election, Sinn Féin is here to remind it that the pension age was one of the biggest issues in the course of that campaign. Voters sent a clear message that they wanted to restore the right to retire at 65 on the full pension rate, and Sinn Féin is making good on its promise to continue to campaign for that very right. However, despite the message that was sent loud and clear, the Government has failed to act. Instead, it has opted to stall the matter and resist bringing about the change that people called for. While the legislation that had sought to raise the State pension even further has been repealed, there is still a need for a new law to replace it.

This is where the Pensions Commission that was appointed by the Government last November comes in. It is expected that when the commission reports in the very near future, its findings will influence the course of action the Government will take. However, there is considerable concern that the commission does not include any representative from the groups who are particularly affected by pension changes and who will be the most affected by the decisions informed by the commission’s report. We have seen concerns about the gender pay gap and the glitches around those who are required to retire at 65, yet neither the NWCI nor Age Action is represented on the commission. Let me remind the House that the NWCI said that the commission "lacks the balance needed to arrive at conclusions that can accommodate a range of interests, especially those most affected by any pension age increase".

What this Bill also seeks to do is to resolve the issues that successive Governments have seemed incapable of resolving. Only recently, a constituent who is approaching pension age contacted me to ask why, if they choose to work past their retirement date, their PRSI contributions will not be counted towards their State pension.

We seek to address that in this motion.

We also demand a commitment from the Government to restore the State pension transition payment for those retiring at 65 years of age. The Government's handling of this issue has been chaotic and shows a total lack of appreciation or regard for the years of service these citizens have put into supporting the State. They now deserve to be supported through just and comprehensible policies.

Sinn Féin is also calling for mandatory retirement to be abolished in most cases and for workers to have the choice to work or retire as long as they are fit to do so. For those workers who choose to work on, they should be able to do so on their own terms and not be compelled to sign fixed-term or short-term contracts of employment. We have tabled this motion because it represents the message sent in the last general election, and because the current Government cannot understand that our workers deserve the right to retire at 65 and the choice not to.

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