Members of Dublin Fire Brigade who say their current retirement arrangements leave them facing the prospect of surviving for years on a fraction of their full-time income handed in a letter at the Department of Housing and Environment on Tuesday seeking a meeting on the issue with James Browne.
The firefighters say they want the new Fianna Fáil Minister at the department to honour commitments they say the party gave them in advance of the general election that the pension entitlements of members of the uniformed services recruited after 2013 would be subject to a review. As it is Siptu organiser Geoff McEvoy said firefighters “felt a sense of betrayal when there was no mention of the issue in the recently published programme for government ”.
Dublin Fire Brigade member Tom Larkin said he and his colleagues were hoping the Minister “can provide clarity and reassurance on the new Government’s position”.
There are about 2,000 members of the retained fire service and about 1,200 members of the full-time one. In the wake of changes made last year they can work until they are 62, up from 55, but Mr McEvoy said, “a firefighter making it even to 55 without some significant health issue has as good as won the lotto”.
Ireland v England: Sam Prendergast set to get the nod against England
Paul Kearns: Many Irish friends agree with Michael D Higgins, but here in Israel there is anger and revulsion
Tech bros welcome masculine energy back to workplace. It’s news to me it ever went away
‘I’ve been blind to the fact that my partner is actually married to his mother’
Many, he says, will therefore, be obliged to retire at that age, the earliest permissible when it comes to drawing a pension but the income involved will be roughly half what those recruited before 2013 might have expected until they reach State pension age leaving many, he suggests, facing the prospect of years of financial struggle.
The issue also affects members of the Irish Prison Service, Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána.
“All we’re asking for them to do is what they said they would,” says Mr McEvoy, “which is simply just take the issue seriously and have the review.”
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
