Mr. P. J. Stone:

I do, but in some instances some of the arguments made in respect of the application of an allowance relate to members having expended money to reach a particular competence in order to be eligible for appointment to a section. I offer one case in point. One must reach a particular level of expertise and be regarded as an expert witness before the courts to be a scene of crime examiner. In some instances members undertake the training themselves. This can be proved and it has been shown in the cases we have made to the council that gardaí have expended their own money to bring themselves up to the level of competency required. Equally, the Garda Síochána has provided specific training to ensure the level of training they receive is also within the parameters of the law. In a general way we make the case that the allowances payable are, in one sense, for the reimbursement of money they have spent, but it is not something reimbursed in the longer term.