Mr. Alessandro Giustiniani:

I thank the Deputy for the interesting question. In my country, Italy, having an ageing population is a central issue. This is a problem of pensions. We had a long discussion about raising the retirement age here. We had the same. There were two different approaches. The problem was also people questioning whether, if one keeps old people at work for a longer time, new jobs are not created for young people. There are two problems here. There is the ability of the pension system. The other big issue is healthcare. At the end of the day, it is a question of how all this will be paid for. Looking at my case and the other issue that was discussed recently, there is a question of income tax and how lower income is shielded, in the case of pensions. This is a topic of discussion there. The difference that I can see in Ireland's case is that it has a dynamic labour force and has been able to attract much immigration. This also helps from the point of view of the pension system. That is an issue that I know the committee is discussing and considering. These are the two elements that I would add to the discussion.