Mr. Robert Watt:

It is a frightening figure because it is the net in the present cost in today's terms of liabilities that go on for 40 or 50 years, so it looks a scary number as a percentage of output this year. However, we are not paying that bill in a year - we are only paying €3 billion.

Managing pension costs is definitely a challenge and we cannot become complacent, although the situation we face is not quite as daunting as that faced by other countries. We need to be careful how the €116 billion is presented because that figure is over a long period - 70 years rather than 40. We can make further policy changes to reduce that because the situation is not static and there are further policy options. If it got to the stage where we thought we could not afford the amount, there would have to be negotiations. Members must think about the amount in the context of the €3 billion that we are paying now, which is 2% of GDP. That is not in itself a large number, but it is part of the public expense.