Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2004
56 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Science the rationale behind the decision to introduce, for new entrants to the teaching profession a standard retirement age of 65, and the elimination of the various early retirement programmes (details supplied); if he has given any consideration to the growing problem of teacher stress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5107/04]
View answerThe Government decision that the age of retirement of the generality of new entrants to the public service be set at 65 was based on the recommendations of the commission on public service pensions. The commission was established by the Government in 1996 as a result of concerns about the rising cost of public service pensions. The age at which public servants, including teachers, should retire was among the matters which were considered by the commission. In considering this issue, the commission noted that most categories of public servants, including teachers, may serve until the age of 65. The commission also noted that, for operational reasons, certain categories of public servants — gardaí, members of the Defence Forces, prison officers and fire-fighters — are required to retire before reaching the age of 65.
The commission considered all aspects of the matter, including the fact that life expectancy is rising. It recommended that the retirement age for new entrants to the public service, other than those who are required to retire earlier for operational reasons, be set at 65. The Government has decided to apply this recommendation in the case of public servants recruited on and after 1 April 2004. It will not come into operation generally until after 2040, when public servants recruited since 1 April 2004 begin to reach the age of 65.
Teachers already in service may continue to avail of the existing early retirement provisions, including the scheme of early retirement introduced under the PCW agreement. The latter scheme was introduced some years ago on a pilot basis pending review following the report of the commission on public service pensions. The commission's 2001 report recommended that the pilot scheme be continued for a further five years and be reviewed after that time. The commission also recommended the introduction of cost neutral early retirement. The Minister for Finance, in his Budget Statement, indicated that he will examine the possibility of providing new entrants with some form of optional early retirement with payment of actuarially reduced benefits which would have a cost neutral effect, as recommended by the commission.
While some employees may experience stress in their jobs and may experience difficulty in coping with stress, I am not satisfied that the occupation of teacher is, in general, any more or less stressful than many other public service jobs which, similarly, do not require retirement before the age of 65. Although a quota of 400 retirements per year was agreed under the early retirement scheme for teachers, the number of retirements in any year since the scheme was introduced in 1996-97 has never reached half of the quota.
