Mr. Joseph Nugent:

I can confirm to the Deputy that the value of the overpayments on salaries has reduced and we continue to take action to eradicate this. This has included the development of a new policy, which is currently the subject of discussions with the representative bodies. We are progressing the reduction as fast as possible. One of the challenges we face is in the pensions area, over which we have no direct control, and involves pension payments to Garda members in advance. That presents, as the Deputy can appreciate, a systemic issue around the possibilities for overpayments. We are in discussions with the Department of Justice around this issue seeking change that would, in time, move that to being paid in arrears to reduce the likelihood of that. We are very confident that we will reduce overpayments in the general area of salary.