Firefighters calltoaxe mandatory retirement

FIANNA Fáil TD for Sligo- Leitrim Eamon Scanlon is calling on the Government to examine the possibility of extending the mandatory retirement age for firefighters.

The current retirement age is 55, with an option to extend that to 58 if they pass a medical. However, many firefighters would like to see this raised to 60, in line with the Gardaí.

Deputy Scanlon raised the issue in the Dáil last week. Deputy Scanlon said :“The mandatory retirement age is causing major problems for fire services across the country. I have been contacted by a number of full time and retained firefighters in Sligo alone, who would like to see the current situation changed.

“The problem is two- fold; people are living longer lives and do not want to retire as early, but also the number of firefighters who are being forced to retire is creating a major skills shortage in the service. The retirement age for Gardaí is 60, and I think it is reasonable to suggest that, when firefighters want to, and once they pass the relevant health and medical tests, they should be allowed to continue working until that age as well.”