Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

79. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the action he will take to deal with the anomalous position of workers whose contract of employment expires on their 65th birthday, a year before the official State pension age; his legislative proposals to allow for contracts to be extended at the request of workers in these circumstances or to ban the making of long-term employment contracts that are not aligned with the State pension age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4764/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

An interdepartmental Group, chaired by the Department of Social Protection which has responsibility for the State pension and pension age policy, was established in August 2012 to consider cross departmental policy issues that may support longer working and thereby improve the sustainability and adequacy of pensions systems. This Group included representatives from the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Pensions Board. A Working and Retirement Forum was held in Croke Park in December 2012, at which a range of stakeholder groups, including employer and employee representative organisations, discussed a wide range of issues linked to working and retirement including the ending of the State Pension (Transition) from January 2014. The Group has prepared a number of proposals detailing measures which may encourage participation and retention in the labour market of older workers and these are currently being considered.

Statutory law permits private sector workers to work past the age of 65, as there is no statutory retirement age for such employees in Ireland. However, a contract of employment may contain a retirement age. The existence of a clause in the employment contract setting out a maximum retirement age is a matter of contract between the employer and employee.

As matters currently stand for those employees who are obliged by their contract of employment to retire at 65 years but will not receive the State pension until 66 years, the Department of Social Protection has indicated that, in terms of financial supports, social welfare benefits will continue to be available to the age of 66 for those who are contractually obliged to leave employment. Also, existing legislation provides that jobseekers whose benefit expires in their 65th year will continue to be paid benefit up until the age of 66, subject to the person having paid 156 or more qualifying contributions and satisfying the general scheme conditions.

The Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011, which aim to protect against discrimination in relation to access to employment on a number of grounds including age and give effect in national law to the EU Directive 2000/78/EC, come within the remit of my colleague the Minister for Justice, Mr Alan Shatter T.D. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has made rulings in a series of age-discrimination cases concerning Directive 2000/78/EC which prohibit discrimination in employment and occupation on various grounds, including age. The CJEU has clarified that, under Directive 2000/78/EC, mandatory retirement ages may be set down if, within the context of national law, they are objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate social policy aim.