Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. It would be remiss of me not to congratulate my colleague and friend, Senator White, on the great work she has done and the time and effort she has put into formulating this Bill. When I got married, fadó fadó, it was the custom then that one's wife did not work.

In my case, my wife went back to work when our children were in their teens. She was always a good friend of Senator White. I recently spoke to two men, one of whom was 51 years old. I was surprised to hear that he was retiring at the end of the year. He worked in a semi-State company for 33 years and he got a good offer. He plans to continue working but he wanted to retire from his current job. His departure will make room for a younger person to take over his job. There are people who want to retire before they reach the age of 65 or 66 but others want to continue working. Last Sunday I met a man who was 83 years of age and had just purchased a new car. I asked him why he did not wait until the new year but he could not wait to get a car. I suggested that it would be his last car but he pointed out that he hoped to go on a lot longer. He asked me if there was an age limit beyond which one cannot get married and I told him I could not answer that question for him. He has aspirations to get married and purchase another car. One's age is simply an attitude of mind.

I hope Senator White perseveres with this Bill. Age is honourable and I hope everyone who was here for this debate will reach the age of 100 and that whoever is President at that time will be presenting cheques for ¤4,000. I commend Senator White on the Bill.