Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1958 > Committee of Public Accounts > Report - Appropriation Accounts 1955 - 1956

APPENDIX IV.

TESTING OF ROAD MAKING MATERIALS BY THE STATE LABORATORY.

Cléireach,

An Coiste um Chuntais Phoiblí.

In the course of my examination before the Committee of Public Accounts on 4 July, 1957, I promised to furnish information about the testing of road-making materials carried out by the State Laboratory (Vote 12).

A note accordingly is attached.

(Signed) T. K. WHITAKER,

Department of Finance.

23 Lúnasa, 1957.

The road making materials analysed by the State Laboratory are tars, bitumens, tar bitumen mixtures and bitumen emulsions which are submitted for test by the Department of Local Government. There are no facilities in the State Laboratory for the mechanical analysis of stone. The Universities have such equipment and their facilities are availed of by County Engineers who require to have stone tested for road making.

The recovery from the Road Fund in respect of the time spent by a Chemist in the State Laboratory on analysis of road making materials for the Department of Local Government includes a charge for overhead expenses. The total estimated cost to be recovered from the Road Fund is shown for convenience as a proportion of the officer’s salary in the annual Estimate for the State Laboratory. The question whether the estimate of cost requires adjustment is being examined.