Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My party has made it clear that we support the full abolition of mandatory retirement, believing that the duration of somebody's working life should be their decision and that any judgment on their work should be based on quality, not age. If a worker wishes to work beyond the age of 65, it is his or her right to do so and the age given is not up to anyone but that worker. This Bill offers tentative steps in the direction of removing age as a determinant of quality of work or the right to work. Age is not an indicator of good performance in the workplace and removing mandatory retirement does not reduce the number of positions available to younger workers as populations, economies and labour markets grow. This amendment removes the upper age limit at which public servants can work and it is consistent with the Employment Equality (Abolition of Mandatory Retirement Age) Bill 2016 of Sinn Féin, which is on Committee Stage in the Dáil. Last year, the Citizens' Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favour of abolishing mandatory retirement on the basis of age, with a vote of 86%. This amendment will ensure that the public sector respects this vote and refuses to allow forced retirement on the basis of age.