Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A Galway family has brought this issue to my attention. They are a husband and wife aged approximately 60. I was on the other side of the House when I voted for the extension of the retirement age to 67. The family has made a valid point to me which is that there was insufficient notice for people as old as 59 or 60 to plan for their retirement when the pension age was moved to 67. They are retiring at 65. Will the Minister of State clarify for the House the supports that apply from 65 to 67? I heard him refer to jobseeker's allowance, but it is not in the nature of these people to apply for that benefit. Can the Minister of State explain the qualifications for the transition pension? Is that from 65 to 66 years or 66 to 67? I have some concern. We made a mistake in government on that side when I was there. I voted for it, but we should not have introduced measures to move the age to 67 for people that were over 50 or 55 years of age. Now, they are in trouble. As this man and his wife said to me, they will lose at least €40,000 if they live to the average life expectancy. Will the Minister of State clarify whether there is anything we can do to assist those people who did not get enough notice to make up the time? Can we amend the measure to help people recover from the change in the retirement age?