15 Feb 2012, 17:07
The PAC will resume its examination of the National Campus Stadium arising from the legal battles engaged by Campus authorities with Dublin Waterworld Ltd, the company that was awarded the initial contract to run the National Aquatic Centre on the Campus.
The key issue outstanding from the initial hearing in November related to the pursuit by the Campus authorities of a VAT issue where the payment of same would ultimately accrue no benefit to the State, according to Chairman of the Committee John Mc Guinness TD.
Deputy McGuinness said: “The Committee has concerns about the basis on which VAT liability was determined in the first instance and for that reason the PAC will also hear evidence tomorrow from the Valuation Office and Revenue as well as from the Accounting Officer and from officials of the National Sports Campus Development Authority.
The Committee will also question the legal strategy pursued by the State from 2006 onwards when the Campus authorities had succeeded in ousting Dublin Waterworld from the National Aquatic Centre. The pursuit of the VAT issue, which was incurring legal costs and the risk of losing the case at arbitration, appears not to have been given full assessment when the winning of the case would have derived no benefit to the State.
In addition to the Campus Stadium issue, the PAC will also examine the Vote of the Department of Transport and the variation in unit repair costs incurred by County Councils which receive a grant from the NRA for this type of work.
The variations in costs of repairing roads ranges from roughly €3 per square metre in Cavan to €11 per square metre in Sligo. While there are valid reasons for a degree of variation, the extent of the variation suggests that money is being wasted by some Councils and the PAC will want to know what steps have been taken to eliminate this waste.”
Tom O Mahony, Secretary General of the Department of Transport, Barry O Brien CEO of the National Sports Campus Development Authority and officials from the Valuation Office will attend the PAC tomorrow commencing at 10 in Committee Room 1.
Committee proceedings can be followed live at: http://bit.ly/24YmPI
Ends
For further information please contact:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
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Committee of Public Accounts
Membership
John McGuinness (Chairman)
Kieran O’Donnell (Vice Chairman)
Paul J Connaughton,
John Deasy,
Paschal Donohoe,
Anne Ferris,
Simon Harris,
Michael McCarthy,
Mary Lou McDonald,
Sean Fleming,
Eoghan Murphy,
Derek Nolan,
Shane Ross