Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

We are planning for a future four decades hence and it may well be possible in the context of the revolution in the delivery of educational services in those decades to identify such positions and locate them through discussions between staff and the officials. I appreciate the Senator's concern but we must look at the pension report in which he participated and which makes it clear we are facing very stark demographic facts for which we must plan and adjust. We must revise our work practices accordingly. Several Senators raised the issue of the difficulty of dealing with work challenges as teachers age. The pension commission received and considered a wide range of submissions from groups seeking early retirement terms given the stress employees in the relevant areas experience. This applied to numerous areas in the public service. Stress is recognised as a factor in modern working and needs to be addressed. However, the Commission on Public Service Pensions was looking at pension provision and considered the most appropriate response was to introduce a range of additional flexibilities in the public service that would enable public sector employees to plan to retire earlier if they wished, for example through a combination of purchasing additional pension and actuarially reduced early retirements or by reverting to a lower level in the years before retirement without suffering a pensions penalty.