Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have to run so I appreciate Deputy Burton allowing me in. I had to attend statements in the Dáil earlier so I missed the latter half of the presentation. If I recall correctly, Mr. O'Kelly indicated in the written presentation supplied in advance of today's committee meeting that PPP fund lending is €4.6 billion. IBEC is lobbying for another big tranche of PPPs for road building. What is the average interest rate we pay on a PPP?

I note that a significant amount of lending is in legacy debt to the European Union from the bailout period. Was it ever possible for us to pay that back early, in the same way we did with IMF debt? If I recall correctly the figure was 7%. Given that we are able to borrow for the long term at such rates would it not have made sense for us to pay back European debt?

I was remarkably reassured by some of the figures but the one relating to debt as a percentage of Government income is still very high. If there is any slip in Government income is there a threshold above which that might start to have a significant effect on the overall cost?