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APPENDIX 422 January 1996 Mr Tim Dalton Accounting Officer Department of Justice 72-76 St Stephens Green Dublin 2. Dear Mr Dalton I refer to your appearance before the Committee of Public Accounts on Thursday 18 January 1995. In the course of the meeting, you undertook to provide information to the Committee which was not available to you at the time. Information was requested on -additional transport costs, not included in the VFM report, such as transfer of prisoners in taxis; -the cost of disposing of cars at, say, 60,000 miles rather than at 100,000 miles; -why the apparent resistance to the replacement of one motorcycle with two vans at district level; -what are the criteria for promotion to Sergeant within the transport division; -a breakdown of makes and sizes of cars in the fleet in 1995 and some earlier years; -which Minister has the Opel Omega; -which Minister(s) of State have cars supplied. The Committee would be grateful to receive the information by Friday 2 February 1996. In addition, the Committee looks forward to receiving a progress report in six months time. Yours sincerely
Kevin Kirwan Clerk Assistant to the Committee.
Dear Mr. Kirwan, I refer to your letter of 22 January concerning the provision of additional information arising from my appearance before the Committee of Public Accounts on 18 January. The information requested is as follows: Additional transport costs not referred to in VFM report, such as transfer of prisoners in taxis Garda Transport Section does not incur any costs in relation to the transfer of prisoners by taxi. These costs are borne by the Prisons Vote. In 1995 expenditure under this heading amounted to approximately, £140,000. (This includes the hire of vehicles other than taxis.) The cost of disposing of cars at 60,000 instead of 100,000 miles The optimum time to replace a car is determined by a combination of several factors, including age, mileage and the size of the vehicle. This is because the cost of depreciation is dependent on age while maintenance /repair costs usually increase with mileage and, in general, the bigger/more expensive the vehicle the longer its economic life. The Garda authorities have indicated that disposal of cars at 60,000 miles would require the purchase of an additional 200 cars annually at a cost of £2.5m (at current prices). However, this does not take into account savings in fuel, maintenance and repairs, or the likely increased revenue from improved auction prices at disposal. This is an issue which clearly requires further study and the Operations Research Section of the Department of Finance has agreed to examine and report back to this Department on the overall costs of replacing Garda cars at various mileage levels. Also, the imminent computerisation of the Garda fleet management system should, in due course, provide more accurate and detailed management information which will inform decisions concerning the economic life of Garda motor vehicles. Apparent resistance to the replacement of one motorcycle with two vans at district level The deployment, including allocation and replacement, of all Garda vehicles is a matter for Garda management. Criteria for promotion to Sergeant within Transport Division All Garda promotions are governed by the Garda Siochana Promotion Regulations, 1987. Article 9(4) of those regulations requires selection of members for promotion to the rank of Sergeant, inter alia, in the Garda garage by means of a competition which includes an interview conducted by a board constituted in accordance with the Regulations. While, in theory, any serving Garda with the necessary technical and other qualifications can apply for promotion (and be promoted) to Sergeant in the Garda garage, in practice, it is serving Garda mechanics who apply for such promotion. Breakdown of makes and sizes of cars in the Garda fleet in 1995 and some earlier years The data requested in respect of 1995 is attached. Information in respect of earlier years is not readily available. Which Minister has the Opel Omega? The Ministers for Social Welfare and Enterprise and Employment both use Opel Omega cars. Which Minister(s) of State have cars supplied? The Minister of State to the Government is supplied with a car as is the Chief W. Yours sincerely,
Tim Dalton, Secretary. 2 February, 1996. Appendix ‘C’ OPERATIONAL VEHICLES.
PERSONNEL CARRIERS.
OPERATIONAL MOTOR CYCLES INCLUDING SPARES
OPERATIONAL VEHICLES TOTAL
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