The secretary general of the Department of Transport has denied that the State paid 'over the odds' to buy out NTR from the West Link toll bridge in Dublin.
Tom O' Mahony told the Public Accounts Committee the deal was good value for the taxpayer while the users of the M50 were benefiting from a vastly improved service.
He also said the state has benefited since the removal of NTR in 2008 because of increased traffic volumes. Those volumes have continued to increase despite the recession and now stand at 90,000 vehicles per day.
The Comptroller and Auditor General told the committee, however, that it appeared that the State paid a premium 'to induce NTR to terminate the agreement' to operate the West Link, compared with another option open to it of retaining NTR's involvement in the bridge but eliminating tolls.
John Buckley said that agreements such as the one made with NTR should at the outset contain explicit clauses about compensation in the event of termination.
Fred Barry of the National Roads Authority told the committee that from August 2008 to the year end, €30m was raised from motorists crossing the bridge. He said that the projected toll revenue for 2009 was €85m to €90m and that the cost of the €440m buy-out of the bridge from NTR would not fall back on the Exchequer.
Mr Barry said, however, that it was not the NRA's position that paying so much to buy out the contract with NTR was a great deal for the taxpayer.
