Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 December 2004
27 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has commissioned or carried out studies on the effects of the rising age profiles on regulations governing employment and, in particular, on regulations governing retirement; and if he will report on the conclusions of these studies. [33850/04]
View answerI have not commissioned or carried out any studies on the effects of the rising age profiles of persons in employment. Policy in the pensions area is determined by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs.
Flexibility and security in the labour market, as well as work organisation and work-life balance requirements can be facilitated through atypical work patterns such as part-time and fixed-term contract work. Such work patterns and systems have, in recent years, encouraged many older workers in particular, to either join or re-enter the Irish labour market and I welcome this positive development.
Employment rights legislation protects employees against arbitrary or capricious behaviour by employers and helps to foster labour market harmony by promoting personnel policies that minimise conflict and maximise fairness. Recent developments in the area of employment rights of particular interest to older workers include: legislation protecting part-time employees from discrimination in relation to conditions of employment, including pay and pensions, under the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001; legislation protecting employees on fixed-term contracts from discrimination in relation to conditions of employment, including pay and pensions, under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003; amendment of the Unfair Dismissals Acts to provide that a person who is over the age of 66 years is no longer excluded from those Acts unless he or she had already reached the normal retirement age for employees of the same employer in similar employment; the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 which was signed into law on 25 March 2004. The Act — which is administered by the Department of Finance — covers new entrants who become public servants on or after 1 April 2004. The Act does not affect the current terms of existing public service employees. The Act removes the compulsory retirement age for new entrants to the public service, with the exception of certain posts in the Permanent Defence Force, the Garda Síochána, the Prison Service and the Fire Service.
Except as outlined above, there is nothing to prevent an employee requesting his or her employer to be retained in employment beyond the age of 65 years. Such workers could continue to work on a full-time or part-time basis and can get an old age contributory pension from the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
