Mr. Brendan Kennedy:

There are a number of different aspects to my response. We have statistics for the current financial situation of defined benefit schemes. Of the 628 schemes to which I referred in my opening statement, of those schemes that have shortfalls, the total amount is approximately €3.5 billion. Some schemes are in surplus and others are in deficit. The total amount involved in respect of those in deficit is in the region of €3.5 billion. Clearly, those deficits are specific to particular employers. It is also important to say that those figures change over time. In some of those schemes, things may work out better than was anticipated and the current deficit will turn out to partially heal itself through, for example, investment returns being better than expected or something of that nature. On the other hand, some of those deficits may get worse or schemes that are currently in surplus may fall into deficit. The current amount is about €3.5 billion. We have not carried out any company-specific analysis on whether one employer could afford the money involved while another could not because the Pensions Authority would not have the expertise to undertake that kind of analysis.