Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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66. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he expects to adjust the retirement age for public servants who wish to work beyond 66 years of age. [49182/18]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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69. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of progress of the Bill to change the retirement age for public servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49183/18]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I raise the matter of the Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Bill 2018, which proposes to allow public servants to work beyond retirement age if they wish. While the Bill has come through the Seanad and passed Second Stage in this House, I continue to be contacted by public servants who are close to their 66th birthdays and who need the Bill to pass to allow them to continue to work.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 69 together.

The Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Bill 2018, which provides for an increase in the compulsory retirement age to 70 for public servants recruited prior to 1 April 2004, was published on Monday, 9 July 2018. It passed all Stages in the Seanad on Tuesday, 17 July, and completed Second Stage in the Dáil on 7 November. Committee Stage is provisionally scheduled for 11 December 2018.

While scheduling of time for the enactment of legislation is ultimately a matter for the Oireachtas itself through the Business Committee, my intention is to ensure enactment as soon as possible.

Once the Bill is enacted and commenced, the vast majority of public servants recruited prior to 1 April 2004 will have a new compulsory retirement age of 70. For the most part, those public servants currently have a compulsory retirement age of 65.

Until the commencement of the Bill, the current compulsory retirement age continues to apply and public servants reaching the age of 65 are required to retire. To accommodate public servants who reach the age of 65 in the period between the Government decision to increase the retirement age and the commencement of the necessary legislation, I arranged for the introduction of interim measures.

The interim arrangements, which must respect the current statutory position of the compulsory retirement age of 65, provide a temporary solution to affected public servants by allowing them to be rehired for a period of one year, until they reach the age of eligibility for the State pension, which is 66. Existing retire and rehire arrangements are being used to accommodate affected public servants in each sector.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister. I know the scheduling of the House is a matter for the Business Committee but allowing for the fact that it is at Committee Stage on 12 December, it is leaving it tight. Is there a chance that we could pass this before Christmas? It would be great for people and I have concerns for people who will reach their birthdays over the Christmas period were the legislation not to pass. We are in the hands of the committee as well to try to expedite it through as much as we can but it is an issue that we should work on with all sides of the House to try to get it through as quickly as we can.

I understand that the Minister is saying the increase is for those recruited prior to 1 April 2004 and up to the age of 70. That means that different age limits will not apply to different public servants. When it changes it will be 70 years of age for all. Can the Minister confirm that this measure is open to all public servants so that there are not different rules for different elements of the public service?

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I spoke on this Bill during Second Stage at the beginning of November. Notwithstanding the optional interim measures which the Minister mentioned, there was an expectation arising out of his comments on this issue that it would be passed long before the proposals that are pending Committee Stage. Deputy Heydon mentioned impending birthdays but many birthdays have come and gone and many people were forced to retire in the interim since the Bill was announced. Many of these people did not wish to retire but were not given the option. Is it possible to bring forward amendments that would be retrospective to when the interim measure was announced which would provide for those who did not have the option of availing of the interim measure?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I recognise the strong interest that Deputies Cowen and Heydon have had in this matter. As this Bill was first introduced, some of the ideas first came from Deputy Moran in some meetings that I had with him well over 18 months ago.

I am not planning on changing the legislation to make it in any way retrospective. We brought in interim measures and this is a Bill that many are hoping will pass but regardless of what date it passes on, unfortunately there will be some people who could be affected either side of it.

On what we can do to address the issues that have been raised, I have looked to schedule this Bill at the earliest opportunity and on foot of the exchange that I have had here, I will talk to the Government Chief Whip and see if there will be an opportunity to schedule Committee Stage a few days earlier. If that were to happen, given the consensus there is for the passage of this Bill, that might facilitate a prompt Report Stage a few days after that and then passage of the Bill.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister. I support those measures and it is a sign of how good the Bill is that the only complaints the Minister is getting are around how quickly it can pass. If we can all work together on all sides of the House, there would be great merit in trying our best, as I know the Minister is, to get this passed before Christmas and to get it enacted as soon as possible.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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It is not often that I deal with enthusiastic claims to get a Bill passed quickly but we are in this case because it could make a difference to the lives of many.

On the question that the Deputy put to me that I did not answer on whether there are any employees who are outside of the terms of this Bill, the answer is those who because of the physical nature of their work might not be able to continue to fulfil that work as the years pass on are affected. For example, I recollect that firemen at least are excluded from the terms of this Bill but I will provide information to the Deputy on what other employees are excluded from it.