Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As I understand it, bonuses and additional payments can be described in two ways. They are either fixed or variable. With a fixed bonus, if I work in the private sector I get an additional top-up payment at the end of the year. Or, if I have served so many years, I get an increase in salary. That is measurable, although it is not understandable to many people. There are also variable increases which occur on a once-off basis or may happen because the bank has achieved excessive profits. I am asking Mr. Carrigan again what is the rationale for the increases in the Bank of Ireland figures in recent weeks.