Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

Yes, half is less than one, but in the negotiations with the Department, we would have to bring forward a scheme to the Government and get the Government to approve it. That includes the quantitative and qualitative. We have to decide whether it is the same 2,000 participants, whether it is a different cohort, whether it is fair to the control group and whether the control group is reopened again. That all takes time. Looking at this objectively, having only received the funding last week, it will take us a number of months to be able to roll out payments. That is why it is half a year. It is not a cut. To be fair to the Deputy-----