Mary White (Fianna Fail)

That is nothing. The Senator does not have to retire.

The Minister could drive a national plan against ageism and have inspirational role models. Role models work. People can inspire others. There is no question about that.

People must retire from State boards at the age of 70. That is ridiculous. I was on the board of Bord Bia when, approximately five years ago, Mr. Hanrahan, the chairman of the Kerry Group, had to retire when he was 70. I was not into thinking about ageism then and I took it for granted. When I started on this document, I wrote to Mr. Hanrahan that I felt awful about not having made an objection. The chairman of the Kerry Group, one of the largest companies in the world, was told he was too old to be on the board of Bord Bia. The Minister brought figures relating to the improvement in the participation of women on State boards. I commend him on that and on his attitude to this issue. I suggest there should be an age balance on State boards as well.

I thank the Minister for referring to my document. I did my heart good because a huge amount of blood, sweat and tears went into it. We are all getting older so ageism affects us all in one way or another.