Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

We will disagree. I would like to make a few other points about what Mr. Maloney raised in his opening statement, one or two of which are tangential to the core issue we have been discussing. I would like to draw the committee's attention to the financial position of the DDDA at the end of 2012. I drew attention in my audit certificate to the dissolution of the authority, which is planned, and to a deferred pension funding asset being recognised in the financial statements as follows:

I draw attention to note 16 to the financial statements and to the recognition as at 31 December 2012 of an asset of €8.4 million in respect of deferred pension funding.

The recognition of the asset reflects the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's statement in July 2013 that the State will bear the authority's pension liabilities on its dissolution. The balance sheet of the authority at that date shows total assets less current liabilities of €5 million, which means, had the authority ceased to exist on 31 December 2012 and succeeded in disposing of all its assets and clearing all its liabilities, there would be a net €5 million to return to the Exchequer. However, the Exchequer is taking on €8.4 million of pension liabilities into the future - that is an estimate of what those liabilities will be. If one likes, that transfers with the surrender of the assets. So there is actually a net Exchequer cost in relation to that. I do not want to make a big point around-----