Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will be focusing today on chapter 4 of the 2016 annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the overview of public private partnerships, PPPs. Throughout the year the committee has raised concerns about the amounts of money spent through public private partnerships, in the education and transport sectors in particular. In 2016 the figure for commitments to PPPs was €6.6 billion. Members have been worried about the level of transparency surrounding some of the biggest infrastructural projects in the country. This is an important meeting in trying to understand whether and how value for money is being achieved in the spending of public money on these projects. We are joined from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform by Mr. Robert Watt and Mr. Brendan Ellison; from the National Development Finance Agency by Mr. Gerard Cahillane, Mr. Paul O'Neill and Mr. Sean Court; from the Department of Education and Skills by Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú, Ms Emma Leonard and Mr. Gary O'Doherty; and from Transport Infrastructure Ireland by Mr. Michael Nolan, Mr. Nigel O'Neill and Mr. Michael Kennedy.

We have picked Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the Department of Education and Skills as two of the key State bodies involved in PPPs. Other Departments are involved in PPPs, but we could not bring everybody in and considered these to be two of the key bodies involved, with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and especially the National Development Finance Agency which is heavily involved in the entire process.

I remind members, witnesses and those in the Visitors Gallery to turn off their mobile phones or switch them to airplane mode. Leaving them in silent mode is not adequate because they will still interfere with the recording system.

By virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. If they are directed by it to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and continue to do so, they are only entitled thereafter to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against any person or an entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

Members are reminded of the provisions within Standing Order 186 to the effect that the committee shall refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government or the merits of the objectives of such policy or policies.

I call on the Comptroller and Auditor to make an opening statement.