Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister of State well in her new role and look forward to working with her on a number of issues. The Bill before us is in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations and implementation plan, published in 2022. Many aspects are welcome but there are also many concerns. The Government subsequently committed to introducing a range of reforms to ensure the pensions system is sustainable and that people relying on the State pension have adequate and predictable income in retirement. However, I note that I have concerns with the Bill as drafted and particularly the level of ambiguity around the objective and reasonable justification that an employer may use to deny a request from an employee to remain in employment. From the employer’s perspective, there are also issues around the burden created for the employer when it comes to individually justifying retirement age for an individual worker and not as a general class of worker. I know this aims to prevent blanket policies but there are issues of how practical it may be, particularly in small workplaces. I am also concerned about the limited scope of application and the complexity of the notification process for the employee. While I believe that we are moving in the right direction, the Bill as it stands is too limited.

Again, I note that if a new regime is brought in, the employer must be capable of justifying the retirement age for the individual worker as distinct from a general class of worker. While I have expressed my concerns from the employer's point of view, it does seem like the kind of flexibility I have sought for many years in the context of the mandatory retirement age for school bus drivers. We need greater flexibility in that regard. Bus drivers and bus operators have contacted me on this. There is a huge shortage of school bus drivers for this coming September and we need to look at this issue. There are moves to encourage people to stay on in the workforce if they so wish but I have been contacted by many frustrated people. There is an injustice. If they are medically fit and have passed medical tests, I cannot see why they cannot be allowed to remain on as school bus drivers. We have a situation whereby they can drive a bus to Mayo or Donegal to bring children to matches or whatnot but they cannot bring children down the road to a local school. It just does not make sense. I am again calling for practical common sense to be put in place quickly and for it to prevail on this matter because there is a huge shortage of bus drivers again this year.

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