Mr. Ciarán Lawler:

It is another "it depends" answer. It depends on the model one is using. It would be straightforward to project increases in social welfare payments based on indices you have at the time, such as projected inflation or earnings for the following year. That is a percentage, so you apply that percentage increase to the rate and come up with a number. If the inflation forecast at budget time turned out to be what it was, which was around 2%, that would translate to an increase of around €4 on the €203 rate of payment or a €5 increase on the pension. That can be done. When you are looking at things like the smoothed earnings approach or some kind of combination, it is a little more complex than that.