Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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877. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 967 of 20 March 2024, in relation to the Criminal Court Complex and PPP Courts bundle, to provide the share of the anticipated total cost to the Exchequer that is assumed to cover services costs after construction; what share of the unitary payment is subject to review and increase to cover inflation; if the anticipated total cost to the Exchequer takes inflation related reviews of unitary payments into account; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14367/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the total cost to the Exchequer over the life of a PPP contract, typically over 25 years, includes not just the cost of design and construction but also the cost of financing, operating and maintaining the facility, including services such as planned and reactive maintenance, grounds maintenance, cleaning, caretaking, security and waste management.

By its nature, a PPP contract is tightly defined and controlled and the PPP company must provide a fully maintained facility for the duration of the contract and carries the risk in relation to rectification of any construction defects that occur during the term. If a facility is not available or services are not provided in accordance with the standards set out in the contract, the State is entitled to reduce its monthly payment until the required standard is restored.

Further information on the total contract values and project payments for the Criminal Court Complex and PPP Courts bundle projects is available at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/6f72b-projects/

I can inform the Deputy that a portion of the unitary payment is adjusted annually by an inflation factor to reflect changes in a general inflation index specified in the contract (the Consumer Price Index or the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices). This indexable portion represents costs incurred by the PPP company over the operational period (e.g., facilities management, maintenance, and lifecycle costs); it excludes construction and finance costs. As part of the annual indexation process, the indexable portion is adjusted by the actual inflation rate over the preceding 12-month period. Projected annualised PPP payments included in the link above include forecasted inflation estimate. The indexable portion for each project depends on the specific features of the project, i.e., the operational period costs as a proportion of the total costs will differ by project.

Due to the commercially sensitive nature of the share of the unitary payment to each PPP company’s tender submission and the fact that the NDFA are in live procurement on a PPP project currently, it would not be appropriate to provide details of the indexable element.