Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Public Accounts Committee
2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 7 - Management of the Fixed Charge Notice System
Chapter 8 - Management of Outsourced Safety Cameras
Chapter 14 - Cash Balances in the RSA
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport
11:05 am
Mr. Maurice Treacy:
When we had set it at €16.4 million at the start of the year, it was on the basis of information the RSA had given us. During that year, a report was produced on behalf of the RSA on the driver testing estate, as Ms Murdock has called it. This suggested that there was a need for an upgrade of the estate. To meet EU-level requirements on heavy goods vehicles and motorcycle testing, in particular, there was a requirement to upgrade the estate. The old testing centres were no longer fit for purpose, according to the report. Therefore, the RSA needed funding to expand, upgrade and refurbish the facilities that were still usable. We agreed, in that context, that we would extend the reserve by €4 million.