Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for her response. Am I correct in saying there has been no major dividend in savings this year? Was the target inherited by the Minister not €540 million for this year? Last year's target was €550 million and €483 million was recorded as achieved, up to the time industrial action curtailed the activities. Has that industrial action continued this year and is that the reason this year's target may not be achieved?

There seems to be no major increase in the number of cases under review. In 2009, there were approximately 750,000 cases reviewed and to August this year, 401,000 have been reviewed. In March of this year there were 89 inspectors targeting this area. Are there more now considering what the Minister has been saying in recent months with regard to the plan she has brought forward to target this area specifically and to make savings which might allow her to retain the rates of payment? Will she elaborate on this? While the Minister intends the targeted review to be a success, based on these figures and the comparison with recent years, is it as successful as she thought it would be?

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