Mr. Ultan Courtney:

That needs to be clarified. That is what I did. That is why I sent the committee the letter in regard to it. That is what was said to us. Senator Gavan went on to ask me about submissions about getting a pay increase and I said: "Yes, people would very simply understand the impact of getting an increase in pay that is not sustainable in their job. Many people understand that at the end of the day". That is what I actually said. That was the balance of what was said. Our submissions are given to us orally and in written form and we have to consider them. A cohort of people that we deal with are in vulnerable employment and they are vulnerable. They have made submissions to us in regard to it, so it is not correct to say that no submissions were made in relation to it. That is what I said. I never said anything about written submissions. I am quite clear about that.

Senator Gavan took the view that I was talking about written submissions. The discussion stopped, but if it had gone on, we would have been able to clarify that. The normal accepted practice at these kinds of committee is that one is asked to clarify something immediately. I would have done that immediately but Senator Gavan decided to put in an FOI request without seeking any clarification in regard to it. We could have had the debate and discussion about the matter, in that I think it is important to understand that people do have these concerns whether we like them or not. If Senator Gavan wants to put it in this particular context, that is fine, but that is not the context in which it was meant. I thought I clarified that in the letter but obviously it has not satisfied the relevant Senator.