Mr. Kevin Cardiff:

The Irish system has about 30,000 civil servants. For our budget, which is about the size of Irish GDP and therefore a good deal larger than the size of the Irish national budget, the European Commission has a staffing level that is proportionately a lot lower than an Irish or UK administration would have. The Commission manages that by passing as much administration as possible down the line to member states and that is, in truth, where much of the real cost lies. It is a bit intangible but there are two costs involved. First is the cost of administration within the member states and second is the loss of control from the centre. What I am saying to the committee is that the sum of €8.8 billion would not worry me in terms of the number itself. We all have a duty to continue to ensure it is used as efficiently as possible and that is part of what the Court of Auditors does in its performance audits.

On the popular belief that we are overcompliant and cap nothing, I will ask Mr. Fennessy to answer because he has carried out audits on the European Union for 30 years so he will know whether that is true.