Mr. Diarmuid Collins:

I will tell the Deputy about that. Back in 2010, the university, for these staff, had the liability and the asset. We had both the liability to pay lump sums and pensions and we had the asset. In 2010, the five universities that had that scheme transferred their pension asset of €1.2 billion to the State and with that came a commitment that when those people retired, the liability going with that asset would be underpinned by a State asset - if the university gave away the money, the State would pay for that.

When the people retired, there was a dispute subsequently about elements of added years. The Comptroller and Auditor General has pointed out in his opening statement how added years were assessed by the State differed from how the pension scheme, which was underpinned by statute, had operated in UCC and the commitment was given that people's entitlements would be honoured in return for the transfer of the asset. We had an assessment, and a view, that it was the State's liability to fund those people given that it took the fund. The State disputed that but, as we have said in the answer to the first part of the question, we have reached agreement on that. There is now a sharing accepted between both the State and the university on how that element of the liability is funded in future.