Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

TII was formed in 2015 through a merger of the former National Roads Authority, NRA, and the Railway Procurement Agency. TII’s primary function is to provide an integrated approach to the development and operation of the national roads network and light rail infrastructure throughout Ireland.

TII’s income in 2020 totalled €1.435 billion, up from €1.340 billion in 2019. The majority of this income comes from Exchequer grant funding. As a result of the impact of Covid-19-related travel restrictions, road toll income fell from €192.6 million in 2019 to €138.5 million in 2020. There was also a drop in other income due to a fall in passenger numbers on the Luas system. This resulted in TII making a €30 million payment to the Luas operator, which was funded through a public service obligation, PSO, grant it received from the National Transport Authority, NTA.

TII’s expenditure in 2020 amounted to €1.466 billion, of which €1.349 billion was related to expenditure on the road network. The majority of this was in the form of payments to local authorities, including €427 million provided in relation to the national roads system and payments of €546 million made on behalf of the Department of Transport in relation to regional and local roads. The Department retains decision-making power over the allocation of that funding and is responsible for the oversight and monitoring function for those roads. Expenditure related to PPP contracts for parts of the national roads system amounted to €173 million in the year, comprising operating and finance charges.

I certified the 2020 financial statements on 28 June 2021 and issued a clear audit opinion. However, I drew attention to a disclosure in the statement on internal financial control regarding non-compliance with procurement rules in respect of a contract for technical design services. The statement also sets out the actions being taken by TII to address the issue.