Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The commitment relates to the establishment of that commission to consider that issue. That will be part of its remit when it completes its consideration. When that work is completed, it can be considered at that time.

Leaving that aside, I am glad the Deputy met people from the diaspora in London. They have praised the Government's provision for the diaspora, particularly in the United Kingdom in recent years. A very strong commitment was made by the Government in this area. The diaspora has been very happy with what the Government has been able to do, which has far exceeded anything that has been done before.

With regard to the Deputy's point on consultants, at the heart of the principle of accountability is the fact that if issues arise, management can bring people to task and there is a mechanism by which the issues can be reviewed and remedied. That is precisely what is at play here. The change in the consultant contract does improve access in the health service - there is no question or doubt about it - and it will continue to do so. Where an issue arises in respect of which one is answerable to management, there is a process is in place. It should not be a criticism of the system that this is the case because management is taking up its responsibilities in those areas. That is what accountability is about. It is not that everything is perfect. However, if circumstances are not as they should be or require investigation, there is a process in place to address them.

The Deputy does not accept that the deficit should be reduced to 3% by the end of 2014, nor does he accept the timetable or methodology. In this case, the logic of his position is simple in that he must explain to the people how he would fund the State beyond July of next year. If he does not have an answer in this regard, his policy means something other than what is suggested.

As the Deputy is aware, there is currently a gap of 35% between what we are spending and what we are earning. Next August, it will be the Sinn Féin policy, presumably, to cut entitlements by that amount. If fact, it will have to double the cut because we will be six months into the year at that stage. It is very easy to say one does not agree with this, that or the other, but one must consider the consequences of doing so.

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