Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will the witnesses confirm that the opening deficit carried forward from the previous year is spread over the next year? There tends to be as assumption that the charge hits on 1 January but, as I understand it, it is spread out over the 12 months. It is absorbed over a period. There was reference to a first quarter opening deficit figure of €140 million or €150 million. Am I correct that the deficit for the previous year does not hit in the first quarter of the next year in the way one might assume?