9 Iúil 2014, 17:11
Noirín O'Sullivan, Acting Commissioner of the Garda Siochana appears before the Committee of Public Accounts tomorrow to consider how the Garda Síochána budget was spent in 2012. Concerns around the management of outsourced safety cameras will be among the items discussed.
9 July 2014
Noirín O'Sullivan, Acting Commissioner of the Garda Siochana appears before the Committee of Public Accounts tomorrow to consider how the Garda Síochána budget was spent in 2012. Concerns around the management of outsourced safety cameras will be among the items discussed.
The meeting is likely to focus on issues related to road safety previously discussed by the PAC during this Dáil term, and in particular the cancellation of fixed charges and penalty points. It is envisaged that tomorrow’s meeting will complete the Committee’s review of these issues, as well as the management of outsourced safety cameras.
Committee Chairman John McGuinness TD says: “Road safety is determined to a large extent by driver behaviour and the fear of being penalised is a major contributor in changing behaviour from non-compliance to compliance. The Committee’s previous meetings with the representatives from the Gardaí, the Departments of Transport and Justice, the Road Safety Authority and the Courts Service have highlighted the weaknesses in the penalty points system. As well as the worrying impact on the road safety, the Committee are concerned by the large amount of money seeping from the system in uncollected fines and the apparent inefficient use of resources being deployed in saving lives on Irish roads.
“The speed detection process was outsourced in 2010 and the contract with the Go-Safe Consortium is due for renewal in 2015. The C&AG's report shows that the revenue to be generated by these cameras has fallen far short of expectations. It was anticipated when the contract was signed that this system would bring in extra revenue. However, the current arrangements are costing the taxpayer €11 million per annum. Committee Members will be keen to establish with Ms O’Sullivan why the projections were so wrong. We are also aware of concerns that have been expressed around the reliability of the equipment used in the Go-Safe vans and look forward to exploring the issue in detail at tomorrow’s meeting.”
The net cost of running An Garda Síochána in 2012 was €1.33 billion, with approximately 72 percent of that figure going on Garda pay. Deputy McGuinness continues: “The reduction in Garda numbers is likely to be raised at the meeting tomorrow with the Acting Commissioner. The Committee is also aware that, with a ratio of 6.5:1, the numbers to civilians working within the Gardaí is relatively low by international standards and will be keen to assess moves to civilianise the force. The cutbacks of recent years have also led to Garda vehicles being retained for longer. We will be asking the Acting Commissioner whether the age of the Garda fleet is a concern.”
The meeting commences at 10 am tomorrow 10 July in Committee Room 1, LH 2000. Committee proceedings can be followed live here here.
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Committee of Public Accounts Membership
John McGuinness (Chairman)
Kieran O’Donnell (Vice Chairman)
Paul J Connaughton,
John Deasy,
Áine Collins
Gerald Nash,
Simon Harris,
Robert Dowds,
Mary Lou McDonald,
Sean Fleming,
Eoghan Murphy,
Derek Nolan,
Shane Ross