Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1986 > Committee on Public Expenditure > Report No. 16 - Review of Procedures relating to road openings by utilities

APPENDIX 5

Memorandum

Coordination of excavations by utilities

1.The Committee heard the views of the Department of the Environment on 26 November as to how coordination was effected and the extent to which it was effective and gave value for money.

2.This arose from the statement by Dublin Corporation that Merrion Square was excavated on 75 separate occasions from 1982 - 1985. A detailed breakdown between road and footpath excavations and between the various utilities was given. It was pointed out that this was unprecedented and related to the major programmes of Dubli Gas and Bord Telecom.

3.The Committee in considering the evidence came to the following conclusions:

The issue of excavations is treated as a traffic matter. This will be formalised by Section 40 of the Dublin Transport Authority Bill. This is seen as improving control. Onviousl it has no application in other cities and towns. The need fo effective control in other towns should be considered as the evidence suggests that coordination depends more on persuasi

4.The Committee, however, is more concerned about the issue of cost effectiveness, not only within the local authority, but also acro the utilities. Thus, while the objective of the local authority present is to minimise traffic dusruption and to recover the full cost of making good from all the utilities which have undertaken excavations, the Committee would be concerned to ensure that the total cost is minimised. The practice of temporary closure by the utility and final making good by the local authority seems a cost and inconvenient solution despite its other merits. It means the each excavation requires two separate gangs both paid for by the utility and ultimately the consumer or taxpayer.

5.The system of charge to the utilities by local authorities might reviewed with a view to achieving the minimum number of separate excavations, the minimum duration of opening and the speediest making good to a satisfactory standard.

6.The present system, taking into account overtime bans and the charge by local authorities for making good, could be said to have the opposite effect. Thus the present system results in excavatic being left open overnight where it is avoidable, a temporary back and a tendency to delay final making good to spread the unit cost over the maximum number of excavations. An alternative is a char for excavations, with a substantially higher rate for those requi to be left open overnight and putting the onus on the utility to make good by enforcing the necessary penalties to ensure satisfac

7.This together with a stronger control for other centres such as that provided for Dublin in the Transport Authority Bill should considered by the Department of the Environment, the local author and the utilities involved.

8 The Committee expressed concern that the mapping of underground services may be seriously lacking and felt that as new work progressed, the mapping should be carried out.

9.The question of an audit of expenditure in relation to cost effectiveness rather than just propriety of accounting procedure was discussed by the Committee in the context of monitoring by Department of the Environment of grants to local authorisies. Comparative studies are made by the Department of ros in different local authority areas.

10.On the question of lack of flexibility in relation to local authorities for specified schemes, concern was essed by the Committee on the number of projects which unfinis due to lack of funds for particular projects. It was felt that there could be more flexibility in this area. The Committee was informed that a system of a three year funding commitment now operates for projects.

11.The Chairman invited written comments from the Department of the Environment on (i) whether or not statutory undertakers might carry out their own reinstatement work, (ii) the relative costs of roadworks, (iii) duration of road openings and (iv) whether or not services could be co-ordinated to the extent where they would all be provided via a single subterranea channel.

12.The Committee also invited a written statement on (i) the Notice of Motion scheme whereby local authority representatives can nominate funds of up to £2,500 for a particular project, and (ii) the Department’s view on the Local Improvement Scheme.

13.The Committee will refer this memorandum and the evidence and documentation provided by the Department of the environment offi to the Business Advisory Panel Sub group dealing with Roads/Hous and related infastructure inviting them to take the matter into account. The Committee may raise the matter then in the context of that wider review.