Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The commitment in the programme is starting from 2022. For every 1% of wage indexation to wage inflation, it costs €136 million. Therefore, if it were to take place over a four-year period, it would be €136 million by a factor of 30 which gives the €4 billion figure.

Outside of where it is, because we know it will run into billions of euro, is that a prudent approach given the situation where the State is at? On what does the flexibility then rely in terms of reducing the deficit? Is it suppressing spending in public expenditure in areas such as health and housing where we know that there is also competing demand for resources?