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

10:55 am

Ms Moyagh Murdock:

I will answer part of that question and ask Mr. White to give some more detail. As the Deputy said, there are significant cash balances on hand. We have reduced our dependency on Exchequer funding down to the current level of an allocation of €3.37 million this year. We also have a very detailed capital investment plan about which the Deputy asked. We have initiated the commercial vehicle reform programme. A significant amount of that capital is earmarked for the future development and the roll-out over the next few years. We have spent approximately €3 million this year on that programme, and over the next seven years approximately €27 million will be assigned to that particular project.

We also have a number of upfront costs with the new national driving licence service, NDLS, which also will consume allocations from the cash reserves. We also have a driving test and a State refurbishment programme in the pipeline. We are currently looking at an allocation of €4 million towards that where it was flagged that a number of upgrades and improvements are necessary in the driving test estate within the RSA. We have a number of other stakeholders involved in that process such as the Office of Public Works, OPW, and while on the surface it seems as if we have accumulated cash reserves, there is a timing issue at play, and that is in the pipeline. I do not know if Mr. White wants to add to that.