Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Will the Minister square this assertion with the fact that, in the next breath, he conceded that, while 9,000 individuals may exit the service, recruiting 3,000 more might be necessary? How has the Minister calculated the level of savings? Will he clarify whether he has taken account of the cost of pensions for those leaving the service in his global figure?

On the face of it, the Minister seems confident - I am unsure why - that none of this will have an adverse impact on front line services. Anyone working in the public service knows full well that haemorrhaging of this scale will have a negative consequence. The Minister stated that he was prepared to lift the moratorium and sanction appointments. Only his Department can do that. What will be the sanction process? The payments made to Ministers' advisers come to mind. We were told that breaches of the pay ceiling needed to be sanctioned by his Department, but he was quite liberal and sanctioned 14 such breaches. Will he assure us that he will be equally accommodating in the protection of front line service provision?

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