Mr. Tom Considine:

Well, I think, as a general rule, it's much easier for the Department of Finance to operate in fiscal policy - and by that I mean expenditure and taxation - when money is in short supply. If ... to put it crudely, if you don't have it, it's a good excuse. When there's a perception ... and, you know, the two things I think that made a big difference were the programmes for Government and how they became increasingly more ... more detailed. Like, for example, I think the 2002 programme had ... had a provision in it that old age pensions would be increased to at least €200 a week - at least. Now, not that I have any judgment to make about what old age pensions should be but, in the political world, if you see a statement like that, what it tends to signal to people is "Well, we have at least 200, so what ... what more can ... can be delivered?" So, the way programmes for Government and the agreements with the unions worked, once they were there they had their own structure for monitoring were they being implemented. So, the ... I mean, it wouldn't have been just, say, civil servants but I think some backbench Deputies might have felt as well that this was a major driving force and Wright, I think, mentions that in his report fairly clearly. So, in that sense, like, you were centralising power not so much in the Taoiseach's Department or, you know, anywhere. They did have a role because of their role in the social partnership agreement but it was more to do with, you know, how programmes for Government and the agreements with the unions actually drove things.