President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were among dignitaries at a ceremony in Dublin Castle yesterday to mark 60 years of Irish involvement in peace-keeping with the UN, the longest unbroken record of any country.

DEFENCE MINISTER Michael Smith will be seeking a share of the €14 billion funds in the SSIA schemes to finance the expansion of the naval service — particularly more high-speed drug trafficking interception boats.