Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The scheme set out the ambitions at the start and it will be a demand-led scheme. It is the credit committee's job to judge the different types of overtime. The overtime is very clear from someone's employment record. Applicants are asked to give a lot of information on the form as well. The credit committee analyses the data and makes the decision, as they do in banks, credit unions and everywhere else. People are asked to give as much information as they possibly can, make their case and back it up with their employment record and their payslips and so on. It can be quite clear to judge someone's overtime record from that as well. Different industries, different jobs and different employment backgrounds can mean different things when it comes to overtime. That is assessed and judged. In his meetings with the various agencies, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, made it very clear, when using the scheme, to be clear as possible about this while allowing for the different categories because they can work both ways. One person might want the overtime included to qualify in the first place and others do not want it included because it puts them over the limit. It is a question of making the right judgment call here. The criteria are set down and are implemented as standard across the country. The credit committee needs to make the judgment based on sound data, which is what they do once the evidence is there.

See this speech in context