Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

It was to apply from then on and that has changed slightly in the new dispensation for new entrants. It is more difficult to do this for existing teachers because they have a range of allowances. It would not be on our priority list for abolition for that reason. There is a range of payments and individuals may already have their doctoral degrees. I acknowledge not many have doctoral degrees, but they may have a masters degree. Consequently, to seek to have a standard amount, we would be obliged to move to a middle amount, which would involve decreasing some and increasing others.