I have never been a particular fan of compulsory retirement ages. If somebody is fit and healthy and able to continue in their work, by and large we should allow them to do so, in particular at a time when we are struggling to recruit and retain staff across the board. I know there are some particular complications in this matter linked to contracts and so on, and there is engagement between the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on it.

I appreciate that gardaí all over the country are under a lot of pressure. As our population increases, we need to increase the number of gardaí as well. The number of gardaí is now over 14,000, up from 12,800 back in 2015 when it was at its lowest in recent years. Funding is available to recruit 1,000 new gardaí this year. There will also be additional Garda staff. It is reasonable to point out that of the 14,000 sworn gardaí in An Garda, approximately 100 resigned last year. That is a resignation rate of about 1%…

I have been to Virginia many times. It is a lovely town but it needs a bypass. I can give assurance to the Deputy that funding will be provided this year to advance that project. It is not possible to do every road project every year. There has to be a pipeline but the priority will be bypassing towns that need a bypass. Virginia is certainly one of those towns.

I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of the cost of living. We have seen inflation slow in the past few weeks. It is easing but there is a big difference between inflation slowing down and the cost of living going down. The cost of living is not going down but is still rising, which is hurting many families and people. We have not made any decisions yet. We will do so over the course of the next few days and sign off on them at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. The Deputy's point is well made that we need ta…

The year 2005 is a long time ago and a lot has happened and changed since then, so a review probably is timely, but I have not had a chance to discuss that with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, or the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. Perhaps the Deputy will allow me to come back to him with more detail when I can.

These big infrastructure projects take time, unfortunately.

I wish they could be done more quickly. It is Government policy to extend the train line from Pace, Dunboyne, to Navan. It would benefit the Deputy's constituency and mine, as the trains would pick up passengers in my constituency too, so I am keen to see the project progress, but these things take time. In the meantime, we need to make sure we improve bus services, in particular, at least until the train line is ready.,

It is absolutely a priority for the Government and for me personally to have the commission on care established. I hope to have it established by the middle of this year. We have had a number of commissions look into particular matters in real depth under the Government. There has been the Commission on Pensions, the Future of Media Commission, the Commission on Taxation and Welfare and the Housing Commission. To be done properly, however, they cannot all be done at the same time. That does not mean that any one is…

I will have to follow that up with the Minister for Transport. I appreciate that there are delays around the country in people getting their driving tests in a timely manner. I know that is particularly important in rural areas where people need their cars to get to work and college. I will check that with the Minister for Transport and come back to the Deputy in writing.

That is something we are examining. As I said earlier, I have never been a big fan of rigid or compulsory retirement ages if people are fit and healthy and are able to pass a fitness test. Why would we not allow them to stay on, particularly at a time when we are finding it so hard to get staff across society and the economy because of full employment? It might have been different ten or 15 years ago when unemployment was high and we were trying to create opportunities for young people but there is no sector of our…

No.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 9, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs was established by the Government on 18 January. Its role is to oversee implementation of programme of Government commitments relating to the EU and international issues. It generally meets in advance of regular meetings of the European Council. Its next meeting will take place before the March meeting of the European Council.

I thank the Deputies for their questions. On Deputy McDonald's question about Israel and Palestine, I agree that we must speak honestly with our friends. I hope, when the Deputy is in the US in March, she will speak honestly with her American friends about the stance she takes on issues relating to Palestine, Cuba and Venezuela. I have yet to see evidence of that but I will check her remarks in March to see if she does so. I agree that we must support a two-state solution and we continue to do so. We support the ri…

I do not think I need to answer the question as to what the point is in having elections, at least I hope not.

In relation to----

In relation to Israel itself, we should acknowledge that it is one of the few countries in the region that has a democratically elected Government, an independent judiciary and equal rights for women and LGBT people. We would not like that to change. I am concerned that Israel is going down a very different path from that but I do not think our concerns about Israel should blind us to other governments and administrations in the region that do not uphold the rights of women and LGBT people or have free and fair ele…

We need to be fair and even-handed and not apply double standards.

I agree with the Deputies in that regard. In response to Deputy Haughey's question, the focus of the summit-----

-----was Ukraine for the first part and then migration for the second part. A particular focus was placed on external borders, and how we can strengthen the external borders of the European Union, and also on returns, and how we can increase the number of returns of people who have been deemed ineligible for international protection in the European Union after an appropriate legal process. I reassure Deputies that those conclusions were unanimously supported. They were supported by the socialist governments and the…

-----and they were supported by governments that include green parties in various parts of Europe. Those include the socialist government in Malta and the social democratic government in Denmark, for example. The mainstream centre left in Europe supported these conclusions-----