Mr. Robert Watt:

The pay component of the savings is based on the share of the pay bill. When the Minister indicated we needed to take more money from the pay bill, we decided how much would come across sectors like education, health and local authorities. There was pretty much a pro rata approach taken across different sectors, trying to take account of sectors that have made more adjustments relative to others and so on.

With regard to non-pay elements, in 2011 there was an expenditure report setting out ceilings for Departments in 2012 to 2014, inclusive. We had non-pay savings for each of the Departments for 2014 based on the comprehensive spending review. The Government took a decision, based on the review, about how the adjustment would be shared among Departments and across the board. The numbers being discussed now, such as the €440 million in social protection, came from the review we did at that stage.