Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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165. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if there are any pending changes to equality legislation which would relate to the ability of employer to terminate a person's employment upon reaching a certain age. [21760/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Equality legislation on age discrimination is kept under regular review by my Department, particularly in the light of national and European case law and advice of the Equality Tribunal. The Court of Justice of the European Union has clarified in a series of decisions in the context of EU Directive 2000/78/EC that national rules on retirement ages may be set down if they are objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate social policy aim. While the wider issues of statutory retirement age and national policy on retirement are outside my brief, it should be noted that an Interdepartmental Group on Working and Retirement, under the auspices of the Department of Social Protection, is considering cross-cutting policy issues to support longer working with a view to improving the sustainability and adequacy of pensions systems in which my Department is participating. Any issues for equality legislation arising from the work of that group will also of course be considered.