Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I want to make a few points in a brief response. One must be a public servant and have membership of a public service pension scheme or an analogous arrangement in order to be subject to the deduction. It is worth pointing out that the accrued liabilities for public service pensions is now approximately €75 billion. At the time of the publication of the commission's report, to which Senator O'Toole referred, it was €25 billion.

The other point, to which I omitted to reply, was the reason judges and the President are excluded from the measure. There are specific articles in the Constitution which prohibit the Oireachtas from reducing their salaries. It is to do with their independence in the exercise of their functions.