Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I fully support the motion to restore the pension age to 65. The pension age was a key issue in the general election in February 2020. Voters across the State expressed their opposition to the pension age increase throughout the election campaign. The Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government that was in power from 2007 until 2011 decided to increase the pension age to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028. The subsequent Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition put that into law in 2011.

The current Government pledged in the programme for Government to keep the pension age at 66 pending the recommendations, to be delivered within a year, of the recently established Pensions Commission. The approach of this Government to every issue now seems to be to establish a review or a report. It is a delaying tactic to buy time and hope the issue will simmer. It is grossly unfair and deeply disingenuous. This delay is causing great uncertainty for many citizens.

In any civilised society that respects its workforce, people should be entitled to a pension at the age of 65. Let us not forget that the only people who are not entitled to the pandemic unemployment payment are those over 65 years of age who are still working. These people again were left behind. Irish people cannot wait for another protracted report or review. They deserve to know where they stand. Fianna Fáil has been all over the place on this issue. Last year in the Dáil, it rejected a call for a State pension age of 65 but then agreed to defer the increase in the pension age to 67. It is making it up as it goes along. Every worker in the State makes a considerable tax contribution throughout his or her working life and should have the right to retire at 65.

In the few seconds I have left, I refer to a meeting held this evening between the Rural Independent Group and members of the taxi forum. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, who is present, to go back to the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, on this issue. Taxi drivers are in a crisis situation. They need a taxi wage subsidy or a business subsidy to survive the pandemic. At least while they are trying to get their business back up and running, they need some kind of wage subsidy scheme to be put in place, as was done for other businesses but not for taxi drivers. That has to change. In addition, the ten-year rule relating to the changing of a vehicle has to be moved to 12 years in this crisis.

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