Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to the Minister for the clarification and indicating there is a €2.5 million saving. Is there any indication of a potential fault in this area? Is the system so well defined — the Minister described an independent medical examiner — that there could be no fault? I am thinking of people who return to full-time employment. We are all aware of bad back syndrome and one cannot come up with a conclusion for a bad back. I am not saying that people would not have such a condition, and I have suffered it myself on occasion. That is the context in which I made the suggestion.

This will be a recurring theme throughout the debate and the Minister is very much aware of it. I will be relying to a large extent in my comments on Fr. Seán Healy, with whom I have worked at the National Economic and Social Forum for many years and for whom I have tremendous respect. In the context of what others and I have said about the budget, its framing and priorities, he has said the better-off will continue to dodge their responsibilities and thrive, while the gap between them and Ireland's poorest will continue to widen dramatically. He has also said many transnational corporations will continue to pay no tax whatsoever on their substantial profits, while small and medium-sized enterprises will see no real improvement in their limited access to credit. This will be a recurring theme and I am sure the Minister will have an opportunity to indicate her own thinking in this regard as we proceed. I do not suggest it be done on this section. I am grateful to her for her clarity in that regard.