Anois, an Seanadóir Kennelly. Before he begins, we are having a little trouble with the timer on the wall. We are watching the time on the desk, however, so I will give the Senator a little leeway on his time.

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I welcome the Minister of State this morning. I thank the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad for accepting this serious Commencement matter.

My ask this morning is for an extension of the retirement age for retained firefighters. I ask that we urgently amend the regulations governing the retirement age for retained firefighters across Ireland, allowing those who remain medically and physically fit to continue serving until the State pension age of 66. There are approximately 3,300 firefighters serving across Ireland, with more than 2,000 serving as retained firefighters. They staff the vast majority of our 217 fire stations and are the backbone of the fire service in rural and regional Ireland. They respond to fires, road traffic collisions, flooding and other emergencies, while balancing their roles with work and family commitments. They provide an invaluable front-line service to communities across the country.

Under the current regulations, retained firefighters can remain in service beyond the age of 55 if they pass annual medical and fitness assessments, but they must retire at 62. That means many are forced to leave up to four years before they qualify for the State pension. The Government acknowledged recently that there were challenges with recruitment and retention when it increased the retirement age from 60 to 62 in 2024. However, those challenges remain. Fire services, in particular in rural Ireland, continue to struggle to recruit and retain personnel. Requiring experienced firefighters to retire at 62 only makes that situation a lot worse. This proposal is not about lowering standards. Those wishing to remain in service already undergo annual medical and fitness assessments and can only continue with the approval of their employing fire authority and local authority, for example, Kerry County Council and so forth. The safeguards are already there. The proposal simply extends the existing fitness-based approach to the State pension age of 66. There is also a clear issue of fairness. Retained firefighters can be required to retire up to four years before they qualify for the State pension despite being fit, capable and willing to continue serving. This gap has to be addressed. There is a real urgency here. Firefighters are approaching their 62nd birthdays in the coming weeks and months and face compulsory retirement under the current regulations. If the Government intends to make this change, it must act now.

I am asking for the Government to introduce an immediate pause or freeze on compulsory retirements at age 62 while the necessary regulatory changes are progressed. It would be deeply unfair if experienced firefighters were forced to retire only for the rules to change shortly afterwards. This is a very sensible and very practical reform. It would help retain experienced firefighters, strengthen emergency response, support rural fire services and align retirement with the State pension age, while maintaining the highest standards of safety through annual medical and fitness assessments, which are ongoing. I am asking the Minister of State today to commit to amending the regulations to allow retained firefighters to serve until the age of 66 where they continue to meet the required medical and fitness standards and to introduce an immediate freeze so that no firefighter is disadvantaged while this change is being considered. These men and women have dedicated their lives to protecting our communities and if they remain fit to serve, we should allow them to continue serving.

I thank Senator Kennelly for instigating this discussion on the subject of the retirement age for retained firefighters. Many Members are dedicated advocates for the terms and conditions of retained firefighters and that advocacy and support is greatly appreciated.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to address the House and update Members on progress to date on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Senator Kennelly raised the question of the retirement age of the retained firefighters. I want to address the specific changes the Government has introduced in that regard. Before I do, however, I want to first acknowledge the vital contribution these dedicated men and women make every day to public safety, community resilience and the protection of life and property.

In recent years, the Government has undertaken a comprehensive programme of reform aimed at strengthening the retained fire service. The focus has been on making the role more attractive and sustainable, supporting better work-life balance, increasing financial security and career opportunities and raising awareness and driving recruitment nationally.

Local authorities are now implementing the terms of a September 2023 Workplace Relations Commission agreement with retained firefighters, in conjunction with an accepted Labour Court recommendation of February 2025, on an uplift to the retainer payment made to retained firefighters, which now provides guaranteed fixed minimum earnings of approximately €25,000 for new recruits as of 1 June 2026.

That guaranteed payment is in addition to any operational activity-based earnings. Retained firefighters have secured improved work-life balance through a new model of service provision of structured time off with a 24-week-on, 24-week-flexible roster with four weeks’ annual leave per annum. This model provides for the option, while placing no obligation on retained firefighters, to attend incidents during their flexible weeks. This is equivalent to a 50% reduction in incident attendance obligations from the pre-WRC agreement position. A national standard level of 12 crew per retained fire station has been established. This rise in crewing numbers equates to an approximate increase of 20% in retained firefighter numbers from the pre-WRC agreement position.

The recruitment of additional retained firefighters is helping to build capacity and resilience in our retained fire service. These measures strengthen response capability and fire safety across the communities served by a network of 201 retained fire stations. In the period from the WRC agreement of September 2023 to May 2026, 716 new recruits successfully entered local authority fire services, showing the success of the revised terms and conditions in addressing retained fire service recruitment concerns.

Returning to the question of the retirement age of retained firefighters, in 2024 the Government extended the mandatory retirement age to 62 to further strengthen fire services. This was done through the Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024. This Act amended, among other matters, the law in relation to the age at which certain public servants are required to retire. The former Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage made regulations in August 2024, with the consent of the then Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, raising the mandatory retirement age to 62. The move to 62 for retained firefighters aligns them with this broader approach and promotes standardisation. In practice, this means firefighters may retire at 55, but if they remain fit and pass the medical tests, they may remain in service until their 62nd birthday, at which point they must retire. This extension of the mandatory retirement age to 62 strengthens fire services through retention of long-serving personnel.

This is not answering the Deputy’s question, I do not think, but he might get something in the conclusion.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. The good news is since 2024 the retirement age is up to 62, as he clearly stated. My ask is for the retirement age of 62 to be increased to the pension age of 66. I do not see an answer to my Commencement matter, as such. I ask the Minister of State to take back my seriousness on this matter. He outlined that many personnel have gone into the fire service since the introduction of the new work conditions, contracts and so forth, but my ask is to extend that 62 to 66, especially for people approaching 62, which is the age they are asked to finish at. Will the Minister of State take that back to the Department to see if that ask can be considered? It has to be considered.

I thank Senator Kennelly for raising this important issue. It affects us in all our constituencies, towns, villages and cities. The focus has been on making the role more attractive and sustainable. We have done a lot for better work-life balance, have increased financial security and career opportunities and have raised awareness.

I thank the members for all their work. Retention and recruitment of personnel in the fire service remains a key priority. Supporting retained firefighters through appropriate policies, employer engagement and public awareness is essential to maintaining a strong and sustainable service. There will be constructive dialogue. We need to continue to work together to ensure a safe, resilient and well-supported fire service for communities across the country.

I have heard what the Senator said and will bring it back to the Minister that there is a gap of four years and that it probably needs to be narrowed as much as possible. All stakeholders need to work together on coming up with a reasonable solution.