Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would have to see the specific figures to provide a full answer. As I explained in my opening statement, the pensions Vote is included in these figures. The pensions Vote is not an exact science because we have yet to determine the number of people who will retire. We make provision on a guesstimate because everyone in the public service over the age of 60 is entitled to retire and we have to provide the money for pensions. We have also developed the shared services model since last year. We received Government approval to centralise human resource management and have made a significant investment in this project. We will be investing more money next year but that will be replicated in savings in other Votes. When we complete next year’s Estimates we will be able to present a clearer, simpler picture.