Mr. Shay Cody:

The Deputy should not read into matters that we are going to support the management initiatives or endorse them in any shape or form. We are simply saying that the unions in the relevant sectors, whether in education, local government, health, the Civil Service or anywhere else, will marshal the arguments as they see fit.

They are the same unions we represent here. We are simply saying that at the level of the officers of the public services committee, we will not be engaged with the management side on the merits of any particular allowance because that is not where the discussions take place. It would be absolutely wrong to read into this that we have a view that we are prepared to throw any allowances to the wind. We simply are saying the issue will be argued in another room.