Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

We do not have information in the Department on the details of who is employed in a VEC. If someone enters our payroll, we have to check whether he or she has been employed. That is in the context of 10,000 new entrants onto and exits from our payroll every couple of weeks. We required clarification on a range of areas. It was not just a case of getting the information. We required clarification on what the arrangements would be for those to whom the change applied. It took us six months from the time the decision was made until the circular was concluded to work through the various clarifications with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We had to be careful that we did not take action which would be inconsistent with what other public sector organisations were doing. Given the complexities of our sector, it took us longer than any other sector. We were working with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in concluding the circular.