Mr. Michael Howard:

Yes. I hope I am not overturning anyone's position by making this point but perhaps it is easier to say this by way of explanation. The reason for this was for the fear of repercussive effects. In other words, what makes any public sector employer different from a private sector employer is that other organisations are watching anything it does. At that time in particular, there was a great fear that were any group to receive an increase in basic pay, it would spill out into other groups. This often has informed the way in which the pay structure has developed. I refer to it as the tyranny of repercussive effects.

We not only have to deal with the representative associations, but must also check to see what the effects will be if we give some concession to the Defence Forces, which may only affect a small number of people.

To return to the other allowances in the Defence Forces, some of them reimburse people for expenses. Of course, there is scope for amalgamation. However, the important thing to remember is that if one amalgamates the allowances one will not necessarily save a whole lot of money. That is because one will still have to reimburse people on some basis.