Mr. Tom Whelan:

I will go back to the prepayment first and then deal with the accrual. The prepayment is made up of two elements. A total of €7 million of it is due to the balance owing to the Department following the end of 2022. There is a schedule of payments that we pay to Bus Éireann. It is agreed for the year and those payments are paid out. At the end of the year, Bus Éireann has its accounts audited and we find out what the balancing payment is, and that can vary from year to year. When we have the final accounts, we know there is a prepayment after the year-end and we get that money back in the following year.

The reason the prepayment increased to €13 million in 2022 compared with 2021 was because, as a cost of living measure, a fuel contribution was made to the contractors for the increased costs. That was €6 million and it was approved by the Government to give that advance payment to Bus Éireann to pay the contractors.