Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I would not hold them accountable. Whoever is in charge of such staff should be identified and dispensed with. It is their responsibility to identify areas where there is such waste and where it is not being tackled.

I understand why the Croke Park agreement includes an incentive that some of the savings will be repaid to those whose salaries were reduced and who are earning under €35,000. However, if my memory is correct, that commitment is given to all public servants across the board, even those on high salaries, when eventually the savings accrue to enable that to be done. In the current economic climate and with the serious fiscal position we are in, where we could well be facing a collapse in our public finances, I ask the Minister of State what is the justification for repaying moneys at this stage, by which I mean next year, to anybody whose salary has been cut.