GoSafe Speed Camera Company To Recieve €100 Million In Renewed State Contract – Mattie McGrath
Independent TD Mattie McGrath has asked the Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, to provide greater detail on the cost of the current contract operated by the GoSafe Consortium on behalf of An Garda Síochána. Deputy McGrath was speaking after the Minister informed him in a parliamentary reply that the amount paid to Road Safety Operations Ireland, trading as GoSafe, for the provision and operation of safety cameras was €14.6m in 2017. However, the duration of the current contract is 6 years with the estimated total cost of the contract coming in €100.4 million:
“The figures provided to me by Minister Flanagan are deeply concerning in the sense that we now have confirmation that over €100 million will be taken from the Garda budget and handed over to a private consortium.
Most people will question why on earth that kind of money cannot be routed to upgrading and expanding the actual Garda traffic fleet?
I certainly recognise that the GoSafe vans can have a place in tackling and reducing excessive speed on our roads; but to the extent that they require over €100 million to do so? That is questionable and demands further justification from the Minister and indeed the incoming Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris.
Ultimately I would like to know from the Minister why he and the Garda authorities have chosen to go down this route of paying tens of millions of euros to a private consortium rather than strategically invest in building up long term Garda owned resources that will, at the very least, belong to the State in the event that this Consortium ever goes bust” concluded Deputy McGrath.
