Mr. Barry O'Brien:

In the audit opinion on page 10 there is an overarching comment to the effect that the audit has identified that, prior to 2005, terms and conditions of employment for staff were not fully standardised across the health system but that since the establishment of the HSE, the policy has been to move to standardise terms and conditions. Most of the non-standard allowances identified as part of the audit were commenced prior to 2005 and have remained in place since then.