Mr. Michael Howard:

Could I add one other point of information about the rationale? If one looks at the military payroll, pay and allowances, in the round, it does tend to operate in a way that the soldier or officer who acquires more qualifications, who volunteers or makes himself available for difficult or demanding duties, at the end of the year they will have earned more. That is also a rational objective. In other words, where we had some discretion and some money available it has tended to be channelled towards people who have served overseas or are doing security duty such as guarding Portlaoise Prison. I hope the discretionary element of the payroll has tended to reward people who are doing onerous duties.