School Transport Administration

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 May 2014

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Questions (218)

Patrick O'Donovan

Question:

218. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a year-on-year in tabular form the categories for indirect costs charges to his Department by Bus Éireann as tabulated in FGS Report 2009, page 9, table 1.4, for each year from 1997, being ten years prior to the EU Commission's opening statement in state aid investigation C31/07, as published in the Official Journal on 15 September 2007; if he will ask Bus Éireann to prepare a balance sheet for each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22330/14]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills

The agreed accounting arrangements are as set out in the 1975 Summary of Accounting Arrangements. This includes an agreed 13% charge, or transport management charge, to cover all other direct costs and indirect costs attributable to the work carried out for the Department. In recent years an element of the 13% charge has been rebated to the Department by mutual consent. The FGS report provided information in respect of indirect costs for 2007 and 2008 in the tabular form referred to by the Deputy. This information is available in a similar format from 2006 to 2014 only and I will arrange for Bus Éireann to forward this information to the Deputy. I have no plans to ask Bus Éireann to provide a balance sheet for the School Transport Scheme as this is not a requirement of the 1975 Summary of Accounting Arrangements.