Mr. P. J. Stone:

It is probably not a bad thing that we evolved to where we are today in terms of scrutiny of some of these allowances provided that it is done in the context described by Deputy Nash and the Chairman. A number of these allowances could be subsumed into pay in order to remove the idea that they are perks. I am sure that is the way forward. It is fair to say that the allowances were previously used to make up for increases in pay. That is a pity in one sense because if, for example, members of the Garda Síochána were paid according to the proper pay structures, the question of making claims to conciliation for this or that allowance might not have arisen. Comparisons are constantly made with other forces. A police officer starting in the London Metropolitan Police Service earns a salary of €35,464, compared to €25,745 here. The same relationship exists throughout the service. It is a pity that we have not arrived at a proper benchmark for pay of members of the Garda Síochána. If that had been done 15 or 20 years ago we might not be having this debate.