Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The reason we are here is because the focus has been on individual allowances and the business cases for their sustainability. It is a cost containment exercise on the part of the State. The Minister has indicated he recognises that many of the allowances form part of what is called core pay. He has conceded the system is ragged at the edges and not terribly coherent. On several occasions he stated the longer-term view is towards a new system of payment in the public sector. I am not trying to trip Mr. Purcell up, I am just trying to get a sense of whether the issue has been raised.