Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely.

We have seen three different examples of the different allowances that are in place. There are allowances in recognition of someone doing a greater amount of work, allowances that are in fact expenses and allowances that are used to compensate people for very specific work. I want to illustrate the second with the business case submitted to the committee. Number 12, which refers to the plain clothes allowance, is entirely appropriate. Where people go undercover or do work where they cannot wear their uniform, they should get an allowance for that. This, however, is to cover an expense someone incurs in doing their work and that is quite different from some of the other allowances we have discussed here. How is something like this paid? Does it go into the weekly wage or is it paid at the end of the year?