Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted the Senator has asked that question because the ash cloud story is one of the great urban myths. Some journalist had the story written and then asked the question. When he received the information, it took him three weeks to disaggregate the information in a way that would allow him retain the original story. We check claims in the third week of every month. When the figures are compared with those for previous months, it is found that approximately 2% of claimants do not sign on in any one week. In the week of the ash cloud, at 2%, the figure was no different. There was a very good article in The Sunday Tribune in which the journalist in question used the accurate information. I give him full credit for his integrity in carrying the story. When we had the figures available, we looked at the nationalities of the 3,500 who had not signed on. Some 85% were from a little country called Ireland. These were the people who were finding cheap flights. English people accounted for the next largest ethnic group.