Mr. Barry O'Brien:

Yes, if one were to apply that interpretation. There is, however, agreement between ourselves and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, DPER, that we answered correctly and honestly the questions put to us as to the allowances we pay. There is an acceptance that we have different methodologies for paying people who work in the health services.

It is important to say that people who work night duty, Saturdays and Sundays do so as part of their core contracted hours of work. There is a real risk of someone attaching the payment of an allowance to part of that. They are not paid an allowance. They work their core hours across the span of the working week but they attract a different rate, depending on whether they do night duty or Saturdays or Sundays.