Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Acting Chairman for giving me the opportunity to raise what I believe is a very important issue. With the increasing numbers of older people in the country, a demand for long-serving staff naturally increases. We need as many of our most experienced staff to stay in practice as long as possible. Surely, what we should be doing is incentivising them to work for longer.

People are living longer, as can be seen in the changes in the population aged over 65, which has increased by 19.1% since 2011. Every year in Ireland older workers are forced out of their jobs for no other reason than that they reach a certain age.

Some two thirds of firefighters in Ireland are retained firefighters who are not full-time but who are fully trained and paid on a per-call basis. Most firefighters in small towns and villages would work in that retained system. The normal retirement age is 55, but firefighters who are physically capable of working beyond the preferred age of 55 have an extended optional period in which to exit the service, subject to certain conditions. Such firefighters have the option to continue working for a defined limited period, subject to compulsory annual medical assessment measured against agreed standards. The extended optional period is up to 58 years. There are retained firefighters throughout the country who would like to see this period extended to 60, and I believe they should have that option.

I appreciate that an agreement was reached between the Local Government Management Services Board and the trade unions involved, SIPTU and the ATGWU, in November 2002, but that is 15 years ago. From that process, an expert group's report on retirement age recommended that the retirement age for the retained firefighters should remain at 55, with provision for an annual extension, subject to medical assessment, up to 58 years of age.

Firefighters, like members of the Garda, should have the option to continue to serve until they reach 60 years of age. Mandatory retirement ages, set arbitrarily on the basis of the worker having lived for a set number of years and not on his or her capability to do the job, constitute a kind of barrier to an age-friendly society. There is evidence that longer working lives have beneficial effects on individuals' physical and psychological well-being. Evidence also shows that workers' productivity does not necessarily decline with age and any decline in physical capacity is easily compensated by qualities and skills acquired through many years of experience.

Mandatory retirement ages take out a significant amount of fire service expertise and leave fire departments that struggle with recruitment and retention. I recognise the rigours of the job and I support the health and safety aspect of legislation, but all firefighters should be treated equally in terms of health and safety, regardless of age. Retained firefighters who are physically capable of working beyond the age of 55 should have the option to continue working until 60, subject to compulsory annual medical assessment.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Scanlon for raising this important issue and I understand his reasons for bringing it forward. Fire services, in all their facets, are delivered by people. On behalf of the Government, I want to recognise the contribution that all staff in the fire services, both the retained services and the full-time services in Dublin city, make in protecting our communities. I talk to them a lot and I understand the work they do, which they take very seriously at all levels. The Deputy is right that they are constantly updating their skills and trying to push themselves to new levels of expertise. They are genuine in their work and always want to help and serve, which is what they are there for. Over the years, fire services have evolved to give us the quality services we have today, which continue to drive down the annual toll of fire related deaths, injuries and damage.

Fire authorities are subject to legislation as employers in their statutory roles of providing fire services. It is expected that fire services in Ireland will facilitate and provide effective intervention in accordance with the dual statutory responsibilities of fire authorities to protect people and property from fire and also to protect their own employees. This objective presents the challenge of ensuring that personnel achieve and maintain the necessary competence for the range of roles and activities they may be designated to undertake. As I said, I have witnessed them involved in continuing training and education to enhance their skills.

International research indicates that a retirement age of 55 is the optimum age to ensure firefighters are capable of satisfactorily performing the tasks expected of them. The retirement age of 55 years was introduced because of health and safety considerations related to the job. Since the enactment of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, and under subsequent legislation, each fire authority, as an employer, has a statutory duty to avoid placing employees at risk. A full-time firefighter is statutorily required to retire at age 55 under the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004. This retirement age reflects the physically demanding nature of the firefighter role. The retirement age for retained firefighters is 55, with an extended period to age 58, subject to a formal application process, including a compulsory medical assessment.

A collective agreement was reached between the Local Government Management Services Board and the trade unions involved, SIPTU and the ATGWU, in November 2002. This collective agreement provided,inter alia, for the appointment of an expert group which in turn would advise as to the retirement age for retained firefighters. The expert group's report on retirement age recommended that the retirement age for retained firefighters remain at 55, with provision for an annual extension, subject to medical assessment, up to 58 years of age. Following the report of the expert group, published in April 2003, a circular was issued by the Department in November 2003 setting out the age requirements in regard to retained firefighters in line with the expert report.

In general, any changes proposed by either management or unions are negotiated using the established industrial relations processes. Our fire services are evolving and remain an essential service which plays a vital role both in local communities and nationally. My Department wants to ensure that this service is provided efficiently, safely and with due regard given to the terms and conditions applying to fire authority employees.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I listened with interest to the Minister of State's response. What he said is fact but the case I am making is that these people are well qualified, well trained and keep themselves up to date on all the new ways of dealing with fire. Nobody truly appreciates the work they do until the fire service is needed. The efficient way they carry out their work deserves great credit.

The rules and regulations on retirement are 15 years old. We are told nowadays that 60 is the new 50, so these people are well capable of working for longer. If the same rules applied here in the Dáil, to myself in particular, there would be far fewer people around the Dáil. As it stands, however, nobody can say we do not do our jobs as best we can. These firefighters are fit to carry on their work, subject to medical examination, and this should be considered. At the time these regulations were brought in, such people could claim their pension at 65 years of age but some will now have to wait until they are 67, 68 or 69, so they will be ten years retired and still not able to get an old age pension. This is wrong and should be looked at. I ask the Minister of State to consult the Department to see if anything can be done in this regard.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I understand why the Deputy is raising the issue and I am conscious certain members of the service have been asking for this. However, it is not something that has been brought to my attention on a larger scale, either by the unions or management. It is an issue on which I can do a bit more digging. I recognise that the retirement age is a conversation that is happening in regard to many jobs, but there is an extra dimension to this job, given the physical demands on firefighters. That is why the expert panel relied on international best practice. It was not dreamed up and there was a sound basis to it. Nonetheless, I have no problem in digging a bit behind that because I am conscious that, as the Deputy said, it is 15 years since the decision was made. While there has not been a clamour for this to be looked at, as the Deputy has asked the question, I will ask around and see if there have been changes in other countries that we might need to follow. We relied on best practice at that time and I will make sure that has not changed in other countries.

In regard to pensions, I must check the point but I would imagine they are entitled to certain parts of their pension related to their job, if not the State pension. That is also something we can look at. I understand the spirit in which the Deputy has raised the point and I will give due consideration to whether it is appropriate to look at this again and perhaps set up a new expert panel. If it is, we will do that, but it might not be appropriate just yet. We will look at what is happening in other countries and then come to a decision. I will consult the Deputy at a later stage.