Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2024
186. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport if his Department has availed of services and-or consultancy from a list of related companies (details supplied) in the past five years to date; if so, if he will provide a schedule of costs and the purpose for which the company was engaged; and if he continued to use services provided by it. [3791/24]
View answerThe Department of Transport have availed of Grant Thornton Consultancy Services in 2022 and 2023.
2022 cost: €60,255
2023 cost: €40,170
Total: €100,425
The 2022 and 2023 payments to Grant Thornton all relate to the same single purpose. The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that the Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence programme is up to date, fit for purpose and takes appropriate account of new legislative measures affecting the road transport sector. Accordingly, the Department commissioned Grant Thornton to conduct a comprehensive review of the programme in Ireland. The review sought to examine all aspects of the existing programme, benchmark the Irish programme against counterparts in other EU jurisdictions and identify opportunities to enhance the programme. Grant Thornton submitted their final report to the Department in March 2023.
The Department's Internal Audit Unit has also engaged Grant Thornton for the provision of an external review of the effectiveness of the Internal Audit function in the Department of Transport. €14,760 has been in 2024 in respect of work completed to date on the review.
