Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There was a saving of €14 million. This was around the time SOLAS and the education and training boards were established. It extends over two years rather than just one. It relates to part of the agreement between SOLAS and the education and training boards. The Exchequer funding goes from SOLAS to the education and training boards and it is proposed to recoup the surpluses by deducting the amounts from the final tranche of payments made to the education and training boards before the end of the current financial year. In other words, SOLAS was allocating more funding than the education and training boards were drawing down. That is why there is a surplus. The surplus is €14 million, of which €3 million will be used to pay for the Christmas bonus to those on the relevant education and training courses.