Dr. Seán Healy:

No, it is not. It is €140 million. The interesting thing about it is that different costings have been done on this. For ten years, the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners maintained that it would cost €3 billion to do it. We commissioned a study in 2013 and brought it before a committee. It showed quite clearly that the actual figure at that point was €140 million. The committee then brought in the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners and the first thing they did was cut their estimate from €3 billion to €700 million. The committee then asked us whether we would be prepared discuss the matter and get our technical people, who produce the actual spreadsheets, to sit down with officials from the Department of Finance and the Revenue. It was actually Revenue that was really doing the calculations. We said we would do so. An hour after that meeting began, Revenue halved its figure to €350 million. There was no further engagement on the issue. We stand by our figure and we are also producing a fully updated version of it. Like the 2013 figure, it is based on actuarial numbers used by the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance and the actual costings and is clearly done on the basis of population projections. We will use the new population projections on the basis of the new census. Finally, we show how it can be paid for through standard rating and a number of other small changes - nothing dramatic. Given that the figure is €140 million, it is not a huge amount. It is a totally different type of animal to €700 million in a budget context. It would put the equivalent of a full contributory pension into the pocket of everybody of that age.