Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We do not believe so. As we have said, we are seeking to agree a new public service pay deal and I have been clear in reply to parliamentary questions, announcements, etc. that the cost of a new deal and any additional commitments beyond Building Momentum will have to come out of the overall package of around €2.7 billion. So that point is accepted. Obviously one must consider, as the Deputy will do on budget day, what we are going to do about the core budget for 2023, and what we will decide to do in September regarding one-off measures. To answer the Deputy's question directly, it is certainly our assessment at this time that 3% and €2.2 billion is about right but we will validate all of that in the coming weeks as we go into the details.