Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I echo what has been said and compliment Senator Craughwell on his work on this issue. In fairness to the Senator, he has raised it for a number of years. In Galway, we had young councillors, particularly in Galway County Council, who only served from 2014 to 2019 and left it at that because the pressures of their jobs meant it was not feasible or manageable to continue. I spoke to a Member who served in this House for nine years. As we are all aware, politics is a difficult business and there are good days and bad days. Unfortunately, the gentleman in question lost his seat. It was not until that happened that he realised the huge financial implications and that he had nowhere to go. The fear I see in Galway city and county is that we are not encouraging young people to enter politics, which is a major challenge. As Members of the Oireachtas, we must be very conscious of that because this should not be a race to the bottom, which seems to be the way it is going. I am hopeful that the position will improve.

I welcome the Minister to the House. From campaigning last January and previously, I can say that the pension age remaining at 66 is a major and contentious issue. I am fully aware that we have a three-party coalition but I would like to send that message to the Government today. I compliment the Minister on setting up a commission and appointing the relevant people to it. It will be the middle of next year at the earliest before the commission reports. It is important that people with 40 years' service who want to retire be entitled to do so. It is degrading to suggest anything different. Naturally, as we are all aware, there are jobs in which it is possible to carry on working until 70. That is fine but there are other professions and trades where it would not be suitable. If people have the opportunity to retire, it is a must for them to be able to do so at 66 years if they have 40 years' service. To state the obvious, it also creates other opportunities for younger people.We have to be conscious of that. We will all agree that it was a big issue for the general election in February. We need that commission to come back and inform us and make the right decisions, going forward. I will leave it at that for the moment.