Mr. Michael Howard:

There are two points I would like to make. First, in its deliberations I would ask the committee to bear one thing in mind. What has gone on in the public service generally and what has gone on in the Defence Forces are different things. Many of the things we have to address through allowances are addressed elsewhere in the scheme of overtime or other payments. It is not fair to the Defence Forces to compare the number of allowances with employment where overtime is available.