Department spends over €170,000 on consultants

The Department of Transport spent more than €170,000 using external consultants since the start of the year, new figures reveal, writes Arthur Beesley

The expenditure includes some €62,099 paid to consultants for work related to the Mayo-Galway gas pipeline project, which was halted last month when An Bord Pleanála sought additional information from the Corrib field developer, Enterprise Energy, on a gas treatment plant it wants to build.

However, some of the expenditure will be recouped by Bord Gáis Éireann, which had begun work on the pipeline to transmit Corrib gas into the national grid.

Two groups were paid as consultants for an oral hearing about the Mayo-Galway line.

They were Associated Town Planning & Engineering Consultants, which was paid €33,543, and Delap & Waller, which was paid €7,734.

In addition, Wilcock Consulting was paid €16,929 to carry detailed engineering on the gas link. The other consultant hired for gas-related work was David Kelly & Associates, which was paid €3,893 to evaluate submissions on plans to lay gas pipelines in Galway city.

Also disclosed in a file released under the Freedom of Information Act was a €22,500 bill paid to a London-based academic, Prof Rigas Doganis, for a report on aviation and tourism issues.

The report was instrumental in the Government's call on Aer Rianta to build a fast-turnaround terminal at Dublin airport for "low-cost" airlines, a demand initially rejected by the airport company. The report said low airport charges should not be used as the primary stimulus to increase tourist business but said fast-turnaround facilities attracted "low-cost" carriers.

In addition, the Department paid €23,363 to Cadwell Consulting and Training for advice on an internal communication project.

Expenditure on consultants also included €15,190 to a British consultancy, International Risk Management Services, for a rail safety audit. The study examined the implications of the delay in implementing the controversial Mini- CTC signalling project, which ran €45.7 million over-budget from an original estimate of €7.8 million. The project is still incomplete.

A consultancy named Promech was paid €20,982 to conduct a review of work practices in the Department's road haulage division.

Mr Jason Ó Conaill was paid €2,400 to prepare an "options paper" on the State's obligations to the bankrupt telecoms firm Global Crossing, which has built a sub-sea telecoms link between the Republic and the US. Earlier this summer, the Government paid €7.7 million as part of an ongoing contract to provide electronic infrastructure.

Also disclosed was a €3,600 payment to Snakatax Ltd for the installation and testing of a new function on a Met Éireann computer; and a €1,200 payment to Mr Christian Seidemann for work on a database. Percept Consultancy was paid €6,600 to evaluate certain processes in the Department.

The expenditure was incurred by the Department of Transport, known previously as the Department of Public Enterprise.