Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome the Bill. It has been well written by Senator Keith Swanick and founded in sound sentiments. It is wise morally and economically to allow people to continue working in the health care profession once they tick all of the boxes in meeting the criteria such as being fit for work and there being dual consensus. That is important. As we debated this issue in the House a while ago, I will not go into too much detail today.

Senator Keith Swanick mentioned the Employment Equality (Abolition of Mandatory Retirement Age) Bill 2016 which was tabled by Sinn Féin in the Lower House and which we are waiting for it to proceed to Committee Stage. This Bill could be fast-tracked as it is a more narrow but focused Bill for health care professionals. Unfortunately, the amendment tabled by Senator Keith Swanick's colleagues in Fine Gael seeks to delay it by six months, which is unfortunate. The health service is chaotic and its non-staffing is leading to the burnout of many professionals and compromises our duty of care. There is, however, a trend for doctors to think about remaining as opposed to leaving. A couple of days ago I met the chief nursing officer and, unfortunately, the trend is still for nurses to leave. A balance is needed between the recruitment and retention of junior staff at the one end and at the other embracing senior staff to allow them to carry on and give the benefit of their experience to the health service to serve their up and coming successors.

We all know the mental, physical, emotional and economic benefits associated with work. It is our work ethic that gets us up in the morning and put our feet on the ground and that gives us a purpose. I hope most of the time we actually enjoy what we do. Having a cut-off point of 65 years and saying to people who reach that age, "There is your hat," is cutting our nose off to spite our face, as we will lose experienced individuals. We must encourage older people to retain having a very vibrant working life to contribute to society and not put them out to pasture. Sometimes, however, retirement is approached in that way. There must be an element of choice within our society. We all know what is best for us and should trust people to do what is best with their lives. In the past there were many inequalities in terms of adoption and in that women were forced to give up work. I believe there will be a watershed in the next generation and that we will be able to say we did well, that we looked at the issue of equality and did what was right. Our children and their children will thank us for making society a lot more democratic and equal in allowing people more choice.

I look forward to the Bill progressing. I reiterate the point that the six month delay is unfortunate, but it seems to be the Government's de rigueurresponse to most Bills. I wish Senator Keith Swanick the best of luck. I say, "Well done," to him and hope he continues to persevere with the Bill.