Mr. Derek Moran:

This is part of the work we need to do, to see if ultimately it is this reason. One must look at the differences between the structures in the tax system and ask if the effect is due to the cumulative effect of very strong employment growth where people may be returning from the live register and retaining benefits. This would work its way out over time as the entitlement ends after three years in certain circumstances. We are just trying to get an analytical handle on why certain elements of the tax base are behaving differently to other elements, even though they are charged broadly on the same income base.