Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Senator is aware, on December 2017, at the request of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, the Government agreed that the compulsory retirement age of most public servants recruited before 1 April 2004 should be increased to age 70. This is the only group of public servants who currently have a compulsory retirement age of lower than 70. The decision arose on foot of a review of the current statutory and operational considerations giving rise to barriers to extended participation in the public service workforce, which was carried out by my Department with public service employers last year.

Primary legislation is required for the changes approved by Government to be implemented. The Attorney General’s office has been asked to prioritise the drafting of the necessary legislation so that the new compulsory retirement age will become effective as soon as possible. The drafting process is under way and the Bill is on the list of priority legislation for publication in the current session. Indeed, I understand that the drafting of the legislation is significantly advanced with an expected publication date, subject to Government approval, of next month. It is not possible to determine the length of time it will take for a Bill to be drafted and pass through both Houses of the Oireachtas, given the need for meticulous drafting, ongoing detailed policy considerations, and the scheduling requirements of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Bill is, however, being treated as a priority and I know that the Minister intends to bring forward the necessary legislation as soon as possible.

The Minister wrote to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach earlier this year requesting it to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny on the general scheme of the Bill at an early date. In response, the committee indicated that, while it does not intend to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny on this Bill, it will engage fully on the draft legislation in the context of the formal legislative process. This approach is likely to facilitate passage of the Bill through the Oireachtas and the Minister has welcomed the support of the committee in this regard.

The new compulsory retirement age will not come into effect until the necessary legislation is commenced. In order to make some accommodation for public servants who reach the age of 65 in the period between the Government decision of 5 December and the commencement of the necessary legislation, the Government approved some limited interim arrangements which became effective from the date of the Government decision. The interim arrangements, which have to respect the current statutory position of the compulsory retirement age of 65, will, through "retire and re-hire", enable pre-2004 public servants who reach the age of 65 to remain in employment until they reach the age of eligibility for the State pension contributory, which is currently 66, subject to certain conditions. Details of these interim implementation arrangements have been put in place by the relevant sectors.