The Workplace Relations Commission found that Meath County Council did not discriminate against retained firefighter Valentine Reilly by requiring him to retire at 60. In a decision dated 4 July 2024, adjudication officer Elizabeth Spelman held that the age limit was justified by the demands of the role and the needs of the fire service.
Reilly began working for the council in 1987 and earned an annual retainer of about €12,000. In December 2023, the council refused his request to postpone retirement before his 60th birthday. His last day of employment was 13 February 2024.
Reilly argued that he was fit to continue working, that firefighters employed by other councils worked beyond 60, and that his capacity should have been assessed individually. The council said it applied a national retirement rule for retained firefighters, subject to annual medical assessment.
The adjudicator accepted that firefighters’ physical and mental abilities are important to the service. She found that a consistent retirement age supported succession planning and avoided individual capacity assessments, and that the council had applied the rule consistently. The complaint was found not well founded.