Month: June 2018

Crackdown on unlicensed drivers will lead to driving test shortages

A CRACKDOWN on learner drivers could leave waiting times for driving tests of up to 68 weeks unless extra staff were hired, an internal briefing report warned the Department of Transport.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) said plans to fine and jail motorists who give their vehicles to unaccompanied learner drivers might lead to 150,000 extra driving tests.

In a “surge planning” report, they said they anticipated a huge spike in applications that could last for between a year and eighteen months.

They also warned there could be an upsurge in failure rates with some drivers attempting their test after years without having taken lessons.

According to internal documents, there were just over 247,000 people holding provisional licences and already waiting times for a test were running at 20 to 26 weeks at some centres.

The RSA had predicted what the changes might mean given a low, medium, or high volume of new applications for a driving test.

In their “high” scenario, 118,947 people would come looking for a test while another 29,737 people would fail and need another test.

That would leave them needing 148,684 additional tests, which would lead to average waiting times of 68 weeks without any intervention.

Read the full Report below

Eoghan Murphy signed-off on full pension for ex-boss of Irish Water

THE government signed off on a €473,000 pension deal for the ex-boss of Irish Water only after consulting with the Attorney General.

Documents released under FOI have revealed how Irish Water also had to pay for external legal advice over arrangements for their former managing director to retire on full pension at age 57 and with a €100,000 severance payment.

Speaking notes prepared for Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy explained that the retirement deal could not be sanctioned without sign-off from him and two other ministers.

A list of “redline issues” was prepared for Mr Murphy included an explanation of how the retirement package meant an internal pension scheme had to be amended and a new severance gratuity scheme created.

Mr Murphy was told to prepare for opposition comment suggesting he would be asked about the “extraordinary high costs involved in the establishment of Irish Water”.

The speaking notes said that the department should also be prepared for questions on whether the state would be “vulnerable to any potential legal challenges”.

The Department of Housing and Department of Public Expenditure had on several occasions refused to release documents relating to Mr Tierney’s pension.

Read the documents below.

Irish Water refund fears cost the government €70 million

By Ken Foxe

THE government took a €70 million hit on water charges because they feared legal issues over trying to recoup the water conservation grant.

The €100 grant had been paid to householders on a universal basis and many who claimed it never actually paid any water charges.

A briefing note prepared for the Department of Housing shows how three options were given on how to refund households that had paid their water bills.

The document was only released after nearly year-long battle with the Department during which they repeatedly refused to make it public.

The then minister Simon Coveney was told the cheapest option would be to refund customers while taking account of payment of the €100 conservation grant.

That would have cost €100 million for the refunds and an estimated €9 to €11 million in administrative costs in sifting out who was owed what.

The document was only made public after almost a year of effort to have it released under either FOI or EU regulations covering access to information on the environment.

Its release had been the subject of a review by the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information since last November.

However, the Department decided they would release it without being forced to saying they “no longer [had] any reason to withhold the note”.

Read the document below.

Government warned Sugar Tax could hit low income families hardest, documents reveal

FINANCE minister Paschal Donohoe was warned that revenue from the introduction of a sugar tax would be unreliable and that the impact of its introduction would hit low income families hardest.

He was also told the tax could potentially be “subject to litigation” if it failed EU state aid rules and could cause administrative problems for Revenue in collecting it.

The new levy was subsequently approved by the EU Commission last month who said it did not involve state aid; it was then formally introduced on May 1.

Minister Donohoe was firmly behind plans for the tax, saying the only thing that stood in its way was if the same type of levy was not introduced in Britain and Northern Ireland.

In a note to civil servants, he said: “Yes we will do this … at a rate similar to the UK. Only thing that will stop this is it not happening in UK/NI. Please move ahead with it.”

His comments are contained in a ministerial submission on the sugar tax prepared ahead of Budget 2018. It has only been released now however following an FOI request.

Oireachtas travel costs exceed €120,000 over past seven months

By Ken Foxe

TDs and Senators have run up an overseas travel bill of more than €120,000 during the past seven months.

Politicians jetted off to the four corners of the globe clocking up hundreds of thousands of air miles on trips to Iran, Russia, Canada, the United States, and Mozambique.

One senator Ronan Mullen made three expense claims totalling almost €1,800 on three separate one-night trips to France, according to the records, and despite the fact hotels and flights on the trip were paid directly by the Oireachtas.

Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl was away on separate trips to St Petersburg, Helsinki, and Washington DC. His counterpart in the Seanad, Cathaoirleach Denis O’Donovan, jetted off three times to Iran, Georgia, and the USA.

Just over €9,100 was spent on flights to bring five parliamentarians to Iran for a “bi-lateral” visit last October.

Read the expenses document below.

Records on decision by Dublin City Council to cancel Repeal book event in run-up to referendum vote

DUBLIN City Council knew their decision to cancel a Repeal book event would cause a public furore but felt they had no choice but to pull the plug on it.

Records released following an FOI request show how the council believed they would be breaking the law because they were directly funding the event.

Concerns were first raised on April 17 when the council press office suggested “there may be questions” about a publicly funded event having “one side of a referendum argument”.

They said they were would need to check with the office of Chief Executive Owen Keegan on whether they could be associated with it.

An email sent later that evening said: “The inclusion of this event is bound to draw comment given that it is the week of the referendum itself.

“This festival appears from the website to be largely DCC [Dublin City Council] funded. All the funders are public bodies. We are bound to get queries on the appropriateness of the inclusion.”

Read the rest of the documents below.