David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is debate regarding how we fund capital projects, whether that be through direct funding, charges for the service provided, general taxation, PPPs or a hybrid version of any such measures. Myriad options are available. There is a very healthy debate on whether or not we get value for money. The difficulty is that there is a dearth of genuine, transparent reporting and analysis in the State in regard to whether we get value for money. One of the issues referred to by the Comptroller and Auditor General is that far more could be done to improve public debate in this State on PPPs. If we take anything away from this meeting, it is that far more must be done. Notwithstanding the robustness of the exchanges, I think all present will agree that we have shone a spotlight on the issue. I am of the view that there has been insufficient scrutiny, oversight and genuine public debate because the data are not there. None of the post-project reviews have been published. How can any academic or think-tank evaluate them if the data or reviews are not available? There is much we can learn and many improvements we can make in terms of what is going to happen.

It is just disappointing that it did not happen up to now. Mr. Watt can respond to that if he wishes. If I can just make a final point, the other thing I learned is that the code Mr. Watt referenced earlier is voluntary. I want to come back to that. It is not a legal requirement and it is not underpinned by legislation. It is still a voluntary code. That is something from a policy perspective, which is not a matter for Mr. Watt but for Government, to which we should return to in our own periodic report because it has been raised with us and we have had some discussion on it. I do not know whether Mr. Ó Foghlú or Mr. Watt would like to respond to my general observations.