Mr. Derek Moran:

It is a significant challenge. In briefing this week, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform stated this must be met within the existing allocation. One asks how this can be done without reducing services and Mr. McCarthy referenced that at the end of the year, a tranche of money is always handed back but we are eating this up fairly quickly. The committee would expect me as Secretary General to state that when we settle a budget we should settle it so there are not progressive add-ons. As Mr. McCarthy alluded to, the real difficulty is we are still in the preventative arm of the Stability and Growth Pact. We are obliged to get out of it over a specified time and we must get out of it within a certain set of financial constraints. The constraints within which we work are statutory in nature and even constitutional under the fiscal treaty. There is only so much room for manoeuvre. Something positive this week was the reaffirmation that the way forward is the Lansdowne Road agreement and keeping it intact. There will be a normal process of negotiation.