David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask Mr. McCarthy to stop there for one second. We encountered this issue in respect of shared services also. We are being told that €70 million less will be spent on staff in Irish Water but if the staff who are to go are deployed elsewhere, there will be no saving to the taxpayer. Therefore, the wool is being pulled over people's eyes again as they are being told money is being saved. We are not saving money; we are moving staff around. There is a "Yes, Minister" effort whereby we are saying we are saving €70 million because there would be 1,000 fewer staff, but if the 1,000 staff were redeployed, we would still be paying for them. They would still be paid in the public service.