Senator Mansergh was correct in stating that more people are now working as full-time Members of the Oireachtas. When I first became a Member of the House some 13 years ago, it was almost impossible to do the job unless one had another source of income. It was difficult to be a full-time Senator by virtue of the salary that was payable at that stage. While I am not complaining about this, the reality was that in my case, and I am sure in the case of many others, there was a substantial fall in income when transferring from the private sector to the Houses of the Oireachtas. Things have changed in that respect.