Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, we have no intention of giving money back at the end of this year. That is the reason we have an arrangement with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We have a budget and Estimate for 9,500 personnel and when currently have money than we need to cover pay and conditions because we are just over 1,100 people short of where we should be. However, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform knows and understands that we are short and has effectively given us the flexibility to divert unspent money in the pay area into other areas. It could be used for capital costs or other current expenditure costs outside pay. We have used that facility to a significant extent in recent years and we will do so again this year. In the first half of the year, before we are sure of our recruitment and retention numbers, it sometimes looks as if an underspend will build up but we make up for that in the second half of the year.

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