David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a question for the Comptroller and Auditor General. This document is the response to further information requested on 22 March. It is from TII. On page 4, there is an analysis of one PPP project and, basically, it sets out that traditional procurement with tolling would cost the State €227.780 million, whereas the preferred tender option would cost €10 million. With respect, here is a bit of sleight of hand going on here and, potentially, voodoo economics in that it pretends the State would have to come up with the money upfront if it were to proceed by way of traditional procurement. In fact, most of this would come from borrowing and the money would be paid over time in any event. It seems odd, to say the least, that TII says the total risk-adjusted cost to the public sector would have been €227 million, had it proceeded the traditional way, as opposed to €10 million. There are a lot of other issues with this document that also concern me. I would definitely hold it over.

There is a great deal of information before us now. As the Chairman said, an encyclopedia of information has come back on PPPs. This is the point we were making to the Accounting Officers when they were before us. Notwithstanding the issues around post-project reviews not being published, or even carried out in the case of the Department of Education and Skills, they have been published since and we now have information overload. We have to go through it all. This is an issue we have to come back to, with respect. This was a day on which a number of Accounting Officers from a number of organisations were before us. We were not in a position, however, to get to the bottom of most of the issues because we did not have the information. Now we have it, but they are gone. I would be in favour of bringing them back on the basis of the information we have now. I do not want to be unfair to any individual; this is a general observation.

I have real issues with this document. I have read it several times and have fundamental difficulties with the analysis and what it suggests to the committee about PPPs and I would love an opportunity to put these questions to TII. We need to come back to it as part of the work programme.