Mr. Barry O'Brien:

One could put it in a different context. If in the first 18 months one's budget remained consistent, there would be no actual saving. While the savings would be accumulating, one would have to set aside the compensatory element. As the Deputy will be aware, hospital budgets continue to reduce. Therefore, the real challenge involves the fact that one has to find the money somewhere. That is what I meant by the public service agreement being a two-way process. We get change but there are certain issues to which we must have regard.