The Authorities has sought expressions of curiosity in a brand new contract for privately operated pace cameras on the nationwide highway community, value as much as €206 million.
The present contract, which is held by the GoSafe consortium was awarded in August 2015 for an preliminary six-year interval and was value as much as €115.5 million. It has since been prolonged.
The Garda stated the rise in price of the brand new contract was associated to further hours of operation of pace vans — up from 7,500 per thirty days over the last contract, to “not less than 9,000 hours” per thirty days within the forthcoming contract. As well as, the brand new contract is for an preliminary interval of eight years, two longer than the present one.
In September 2023, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee introduced a further €1.2 million for GoSafe to extend monitoring hours by 20 per cent, or an additional 1,500 hours per thirty days till the tip of final 12 months. It introduced the variety of GoSafe hours as much as 9,000 per thirty days.
The transfer adopted concern that the variety of highway deaths, having fallen steadily from 2005 till 2021, was rising once more.
In January of this 12 months, Ms McEntee advised the Oireachtas Committee on Justice {that a} additional €3.6 million could be offered for GoSafe pace cameras, persevering with the elevated stage of operations of 9,000 hours per thirty days all through 2024.
The brand new contract, for which a pre-tender qualification discover has been marketed, is just not anticipated to be in place till early 2025. It’s a requirement that the contract be retendered each few years.
Paperwork launched by then minister for justice Frances Fitzgerald to Impartial TD for Tipperary Mattie McGrath in 2016 confirmed the gross price of the pace digicam system to the exchequer since 2010 was then €87 million. A determine of €115.5 million was quoted for the following six-year contract at the moment.
The cameras had been incomes the exchequer an estimated €7 million plus per 12 months in fines from errant motorists again in 2016.
All contracts have thus far been awarded to the GoSafe consortium. GoSafe is the working identify of Highway Security Operations Eire. The agency’s homeowners embrace Co Kerry businessman Xavier McAuliffe and a French firm, Egis, who personal 42 per cent every. The third proprietor is Redflex Holdings with 16 per cent.
Mr McGrath has been a constant critic of the privatised pace digicam system. He stated the cash could be higher spent on Garda enforcement.
“These vans can not spot a automobile with no tax or insurance coverage, a bald tyre or give chase,” he stated. “We’re continuously listening to that gardaí can now examine on the roadside if a automobile is insured, so we needs to be giving them the sources to take action”, he stated this week. It was “offensive” that “a lot cash wouldn’t go to the Garda to do the job, he stated, including “for those who assume what the gardaí might do with the cash”.
Within the discover revealed on the State’s e-tenders web site, events are requested to pre-qualify for the tendering course of by answering a “pre-qualification questionnaire”, which examines them on their capacity to do the job.
It stated the method is being run by the Workplace of Authorities Procurement on behalf of the Garda Commissioner and the estimated worth of the contract is as much as €206 million, excluding VAT.