Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We try to estimate as know the numbers due to retire, but the Army pensions bill increased by 31% between 2007 and 2012. A lot of personnel retired and we could go into all sorts of reason that was the case, but we now see a different motivation for retiring. The private sector is really starting to take off which means that there is competition for talent and people are being headhunted. It is not just about numbers, it is also about rank and longevity. Depending on the numbers, the pension to which they are entitled or the package they will receive when they leave will be higher or lower. We have got the Estimate figure wrong by 3% and need to try to correct it. It is not as good as I would like it to be, but it is not 1 million miles out either.