Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 November 2018
196. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of public servants who have availed of the interim arrangement put in place to allow those workers who turn 65 years of age to be rehired for a period of one year until they reach the 66 years of age required for the State pension while new legislation to extend the compulsory retirement age is advanced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46780/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, I deal with staff in the civil service. Other Ministers are responsible for staff in the wider public service.
The Government decided in December 2017 that the retirement age of civil servants would be extended to 70 years of age and that between the date of the Government decision and the enactment of the legislation, civil servants with a retirement age of 65 could be retained until they reached the age of eligibility for the Contributory State Pension currently age 66.
My officials did a survey of civil service departments/offices earlier this year to ascertain how many civil servants were retained under circular 21 of 2017. From this survey I understand that 73 civil servants have been retained under this circular until the end of June 2018.
