Mr. David Cooney:

I would like to emphasise, if I may, that the sense that there is a degree of impropriety or excess around these allowances is unfounded. We are extremely scrupulous about these allowances and their allocation. We went through them to ensure we genuinely compensate an officer for the additional costs of being abroad. They are not intended as additional income. They are to allow officers do their job and enjoy an income that is not lower than it would be had they stayed at home. I am comfortable standing over this. The Deputy has raised a couple of legitimate points about the contents of the basket on which the cost of living index is based. We will examine that and reply later to the Deputy. Generally, these are not there to give people a good life. There are considerable costs involved in moving and living abroad and trying to maintain a reasonable life a long way from home.