Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A number of factors are at issue. To put matters in perspective, Garda pay and superannuation costs make up 90% of current expenditure on the Garda Vote. In 2014 the total combined provision for pay and pensions is €1.173 billion. The current expenditure and non-pay allocation by comparison is €146 million. We are really talking about pay and pensions primarily. People forget that they account for 62% of the entire justice Vote group. The justice sector has had to sustain year-on-year budgetary reductions, almost since 2009 until the recent 2015 Estimates. There are a number of variable factors which impact on Garda payroll costs, including the number of retirements in a particular year. I have already made a point about that issue. As it is hard to predict the precise numbers, it has impacted on the amounts involved. Clearly, there was an under-estimate last year. That is the reality.