John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her statement. The select committee has agreed that the format of the meeting will be that the Minister will respond to each individual member's questions and that we will not bank Deputies' questions. I ask members to be specific and direct and the Minister to respond with direct answers.

I will make one comment on the presentation of the accounts, to which the Minister also alluded. In many cases, the outcome for 2017 is being compared with the Estimate for 2018. The Christmas bonus is included in one figure and not in the other. This means that we are not comparing like with like when we see expenditure increases. Will the Minister to reconsider this approach in the presentation of the figures? I am aware that the issue is explained in the additional information, but it is not immediately clear when one examines the figures in tabular form. Is the Minister really telling the committee that she must wait until October before being able to state a Christmas bonus will be paid? Given that no one expects the Christmas bonus to disappear this year, it should be included in the Estimates process. The Minister can review the matter in her own time. The issue is simply that the figures across all headings do not allow for a like for like comparison.

I call Deputy Willie O'Dea.