Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I cannot give a precise estimation at this stage. However, the procedure adopted on the McCarthy report has been that it was circulated to each Department and it is being examined, Department by Department, in the context of the Estimates process. Each Department is being interrogated on the report's recommendations and on what contribution it can make to savings within public expenditure. At the conclusion of that process of interrogation, there is then a political decision-making exercise by the Government on any recommendations.

It is important to bear in mind that the McCarthy report did not preclude the Government from looking at other areas. It is worth noting that, for example, the report did not have any mandate to evaluate capital projects except where there were current expenditure implications. Equally, the McCarthy report did not deal with the question of pay and remuneration in general. It is true that some of the savings referred to in the report are payroll savings in that it examined certain special allowances and premium payments, for example, in the health and justice sectors. However, the report did not deal with pay as a general subject and it is now under discussion with the social partners.

The non-pay recommendations of the McCarthy report related primarily to social welfare and other programmes and they are under examination by the Government in the context of the Estimates process.

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