Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like previous speakers, I would like to welcome the increase in the number of judges in the Court of Appeal, which is important. The most important element of the Bill is that the amendments reach across many aspects of people's lives and have the potential to make significant changes.

The Minister spoke about night crime, which is worrying. We have to make sure that we have enough gardaí and support. In my area, Carlow-Kilkenny, one of the biggest issues being raised in my clinics on a daily basis is drugs. We need to be part of a solution to that. It is something that needs to be addressed, in terms of supports for those who are taking drugs, as well as their families. I see this daily, and it concerns me.

Like previous speakers, I want to speak about pensions for prison officers aged over 59, which are integrated with the contributory State pension. The pensions of members recruited on or after April 1995 comprise two elements, a partial pension paid by the employer and the balance made up by the contributory State pension, which people cannot access until the age of 66. This matter is further complicated by the fact that prison officers are required to retire at 60 years of age and are in receipt of an escalated pension benefit ,meaning they receive full pension entitlements after 30 years.

I welcome the Government giving consideration to allowing prison officers who were due to retire at the age of 62 to continue to work before the law changes to increase the retirement age to 62. This is the Bill to do that. I have seen the benefits of this extension. I have spoken regularly to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, about firefighters in the fire service in Carlow. They had to retire at the age of 60 and are now allowed, if they are fit and pass medicals or whatever, to stay on until the age of 62 if they wish. That has made a significant difference to the firefighters in Carlow. These people do an excellent job. The change has been really beneficial. We need to do the same in the Bill for our gardaí and prison officers. The Government has committed to increasing the mandatory retirement age for gardaí and firefighters to 62, and we need to do that.

People with extensive training and experience are being let go while the prison population is growing. We read daily about undercapacity in many prisons. We need prison officers who are trained, qualified and want to stay on for an extra two years. This change needs to be made straight away. We are lucky in Ireland that people are living longer and are fitter and healthier. We are trying to help people to live longer. If they want to work longer, we should give them that option.

There are 12 sections in the Bill, to which the Minister referred in her opening statement. I am concerned about drugs and what we can do to get more gardaí, judges in our courts, staff and supports. I have never seen as many people and families come into my clinics about other issues. I ask the Minister to increase the retirement age for prison officers and gardaí to 62. Firefighters have that, which is good news. We need to do the same for others.

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