Mr. Conor King:

With regard to the Air Corp, it is slightly different in relation to flying pay because the single pension scheme is based on career average earnings and pensionable earnings. If we look at, for example, an Army officer or someone in the Defence Forces in the Army in the enlisted ranks, it is very difficult to calculate. Certainly, however, we have calculated that someone serving a full career as an Army officer at the moment will be going out on a pension of approximately €17,000. That then means that people must wait from their mandatory retirement age until the State pension age to get the value of the State pension to get an income together. People ask, "Can you not get another job?" If a person has put 40 years into a public service organisation, he or she should not have to. Thequid pro quofor forced early retirement is overseas service, the robust and physical nature of the organisation and the posting anytime, anywhere. That is the retention carrot that keeps people in, and if it is being done away with then, really, it has to be compensated in some other way and we do not see it at the moment.