Mr. Robert Watt:

No. These allowances will form part of the overall review of pay structures. In respect of a service officer who is in receipt of an allowance, a much better system would be to modify the pay structures to reflect the reality of these higher duties. A service officer who as a key holder is required to undertake extra responsibilities in terms of being on call whenever something happens receives an allowance of €33 per week, which is not a considerable amount. However, the allowance is in effect part of the service officer's pay. The proposal in respect of these types of allowances is that they be reflected in future pay structures.