Committee of Public Accounts to examine the National Transport Authority’s 2020 Financial Statements

The meeting in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be joined by the C&AG, Seamus McCarthy, and will be split into two sessions.

The morning session, from 9.30am-12.30pm, will be with representatives of the NTA, led by Anne Graham, Chief Executive Officer, and Department officials. During the afternoon session, beginning at 1.30pm, the Committee will consider correspondence and other business of the Committee.

PAC Cathaoirleach Deputy Brian Stanley said: “The NTA had expenditure of €1.1billion in 2020, which included €579million on public service obligation (PSO) grants and €350million on capital infrastructure funding. It has a wide range of responsibilities, including securing the provision of public transport services, including subvented bus and rail services by Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Irish Rail, the licencing of public bus passenger services, and regulation of the taxi sector.

“The Authority also has responsibility for transport infrastructure and the integration of transport and land use planning in the Greater Dublin Area.

“The NTA is managing the development of three major public transport projects in the Greater Dublin Area: MetroLink, BusConnects and Dart-Plus. Between 2016 and 2020, approximately €47m has been spent on MetroLink, a proposed metro line for Dublin city, and the NTA is still awaiting Government approval for the project. Expenditure on what is now the Dart-Plus rail electrification and expansion scheme has seen nearly €44m spent on the scheme since 2010, including spending on a tunnel project known as Dart Underground.

“The Committee wishes to know the current status of these projects and examine expenditure to date to see whether it has provided value for money for the taxpayer. Members would also like to examine the spending on PSO grants and Covid supports for public transport that were provided through the NTA.

“The Committee looks forward to discussing these and related matters with the NTA and Department officials. This is the first of two meetings to examine spending on transport projects and will be followed next week with an engagement with Transport Infrastructure Ireland.”

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

PAC is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann which focuses on ensuring public services are run efficiently and achieve value for money. Further information on the role and remit of the Committee can be found here.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.