Mr. Bernard Gloster:

There is an excessive number of them. I am queueing up behind the Cathaoirleach to tell the world that. The numbers increased by 34% from 2019 due to a couple of factors. The first is the absence of a control check and balance which I talked about. To be fair, on the CDNT issue, I have not allowed the pressure on the management-administration grade to affect recruitment on the CDNT side. If that was communicated or articulated as a justification, it certainly should not have been.

I think it is important to speak about the control environment. The numbers in management-administration increased by over 800 more than we planned for or budgeted. I am not saying we do not need them. I am not saying that they are not all working hard. However, I am saying that we have to look at the environment and at what happened the minute we introduced the control on that. I now cannot see my accounts for five months and I cannot answer parliamentary questions. The reaction in our culture is counterintuitive to any type of serious control. That is the part we are changing in 2024.