Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I will not cause a row with him, but I do not accept that the Government has attacked older people. One need only look at the recent budget and the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill under discussion having regard to some of the cuts introduced by this and the previous Administration such as the Christmas bonus, 75% of which has now been re-established. We could have a long discussion about what happened prior to and after 2011, but Senator Mooney knows well the situation in relation to the demographics of the country and where we are going. The likelihood is that someone born this year will be of pensionable age for a far longer period than that for which his or her working life contributions will provide. Our legislation and pensions will have to reflect that. We have seen in legislation the slow rise towards 67 of the pension age over the last term. My access to retirement benefit will be 67 as I am a bit younger than the Senator. There are supports from age 65. There is job benefit, which applies for nine months. There is no mandatory retirement age as the Senator outlined. In a lot of private sector jobs, people continue to work far beyond the age of 65. The point the Senator made about keeping this under continuous review is well made. All these elements should be kept under review, not just in relation to pensions and retirement age but also in relation to social welfare legislation.