Sitting of Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1748499233099643 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
Order of business
Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.
- 1 Opening Parliament Opening and Speaker's Announcements 1 speeches
- 2 Papers Tabling of Annual Reports 2 speeches
- 3 Petitions Presentation of Petitions 3 speeches
- 4 Oral question Oral Question: Saumyamoorthi Thondaman Memorial Foundation (Q.1/2025) 6 speeches
- 5 Oral question Oral Question: Anti-Elephant Electric Fencing (Q.2/2025) 6 speeches
- 6 Oral question Oral Question: Government Sports Complexes (Q.3/2025) 6 speeches
- 7 Oral question Oral Question: Question No. 4 - 514/2025 (Stand Down) 3 speeches
- 8 Oral question Oral Question: Question No. 5 - 517/2025 (Stand Down) 3 speeches
- 9 Procedural Ministerial Motions: Standing Order Amendments (SO 112-129) 15 speeches
- 10 Debate Committee of Supply: Appropriation Bill 2025 - Head 116 and Related Heads (Trade, Commerce, Food Security) 160 speeches
- 11 Procedural Report from Committee Stage 1 speeches
- 12 Adjournment Adjournment Debate: Public Administration Circular No. 19/2022 12 speeches
- The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB
AI summary Moved the adjournment of Parliament.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB
AI summary Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper argued that Public Administration Circular No. 19/2022, which reduced the retirement age of public officers to 60, has created shortages in critical senior executive services, including the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, the Attorney-General’s Department, specialist medical services, and technical sectors such as Railways. He contrasted this with the earlier Circular No. 02/2022 and Gazette Extraordinary No. 2263/5, which had extended retirement to 65 due to recruitment constraints, and said the reversal was counterproductive. He proposed re-employing prematurely retired experienced officers, particularly in the Foreign Service, with their prior seniority and suspension of pension payments during contract service, rather than making external diplomatic appointments.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law SJB
AI summary Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara supported the Adjournment Motion, citing shortages of experienced personnel in essential public services, particularly doctors, prosecutors and foreign service officers. He urged the Government to retain or re-engage retired specialists and legal officers on contract, noting the impact of doctor migration and a large backlog of files at the Attorney-General’s Department. He also criticized political appointments in the Foreign Service and called for experienced diplomats to be posted to key economic missions, while asking the Minister of Public Administration to reconsider Circular No. 19/2022 and re-implement Circular No. 02/2022.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Dr.) Nishantha Samaraweera JJB
AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Nishantha Samaraweera said the earlier extension of the public sector retirement age to 65 was a temporary response to the economic crisis and recruitment constraints, not a general policy to limit youth employment. He argued that any further extension should be justified only by proven shortages in the public service and assessed against efficiency, productivity, training opportunities for youth, and fiscal costs. He stressed that raising the retirement age could delay the entry of young, skilled workers into the public sector and should not obstruct youth employment.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Mrs.) A.M.M.M. Rathwaththe JJB
AI summary Hon. (Mrs.) A.M.M.M. Rathwaththe responded to an allegation concerning the transfer of the Dehiattakandiya Zonal Director of Education, stating it followed a bribery and corruption complaint over Grade 4 examination paper printing and was pending investigation, not politically motivated. Addressing Hon. Nizam Kariapper’s Motion on public service retirement ages, she highlighted the physically demanding conditions faced by police officers, including long hours and outdoor duties beyond age 50. She argued that, rather than raising the retirement age for such services, officers should be permitted to retire from at least age 55 to enable a dignified retirement.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB
AI summary The Minister explained that the retirement age for public officers was raised to 65 in 2022 but later reduced to 60 through the Interim Budget and Public Administration Circular 19/2022, with exceptions such as medical officers subject to a court order. He argued that retaining or selectively extending retirement to 65 would delay recruitment and promotions, reduce opportunities for youth, increase salary and pension costs, and risk unequal treatment across sectors. He proposed instead to conduct a proper human resource and cadre review and make timely recruitments, stating that Sri Lanka’s current youth workforce makes a general extension of the retirement age unnecessary.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural