Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Deputy has taken us around the houses on a relatively straightforward issue. The figure in question varies significantly from one year to the next, and average figures are provided in the documentation. The expenditure trend for subhead A4 shows a low of €39 million in 2005 and a high of €140 million in another year. The figure is not the same in any two given years, as it depends on the mix of retirements. One cannot take segments of the overall figure and arrive at an average, as the Deputy has done in providing an average figure for the first 850 retirements and a higher average figure for the subsequent top-up figure. If one wishes to arrive at an average for a given year, one must take the average of the total figure. The average will depend entirely on skills mix, experience and so forth. I will be pleased to provide the Deputy with the relevant material before the Supplementary Estimate is sent back to the Dáil.