Ms Andrea Feeney:

I will give the Chairman a couple of averages, if he does not mind. The examiners are paid a per-script rate for every script they correct. They are also paid different fees for attending the conferences, for example, and for administration. With the changes that were introduced this year, the average rate of payment for the lowest paid examiner, which is an examiner at junior cycle marking 300 to 350 scripts, is approximately €3,000 before tax. That is the lowest. At the upper end of the spectrum then, the highest rate of payment we have is associated with marking English or Irish at higher level, remembering that the examiner for that subject marks both papers, that is, English papers 1 and 2 and Irish papers 1 and 2. To mark an average bunk, which is 200 scripts, they are paid €8,000 before tax.