Mr. Oliver Egan:

Various studies have been done by the ESRI, the OECD and the IMF. They have largely focused on the effectiveness of the scheme from the perspective of labour market activation. The scheme was originally designed as a labour market activation measure. Although we have achieved success on those broad measures, as I mentioned earlier, we would have striven for a better level of success. Over the last year, we have formally recognised that it is much more complex than that. It is both an activation mechanism and a community support mechanism. We are trying to balance that within the review that is taking place at the moment. We are trying to find the right mix in terms of activation and community support. We are aware of the dual function that this scheme fulfils.