Vol. 550 No. 5
147 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a company (details supplied) in Dublin 1 is within its rights to operate a policy whereby all employees must retire at 65 years of age; if employees have rights in this regard; his views in respect of such a policy being ageist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9595/02]
The Employment Equality Act, 1998, prohibits discrimination in relation to employment on nine grounds, including age. The Act is comprehensive and deals with all areas relevant to employment including access to employment, conditions of employment, remuneration, promotion and vocational training.
The age provisions of the Act apply to persons between the ages of 18 years and 65 years, except in the case of vocational training, where the Act applies to persons over the minimum school leaving age. The age limit of 65 years was used in the Act as this is the usual retirement age in Ireland. The Act also allows for the setting of retirement ages by employers.
