Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to move through some of the other areas, specifically, the National Development Finance Agency and Carillion. Carillion did not engage in building work but essentially contracted out the work. The opening statement refers to the transfer of risk, which is the purpose of public private partnerships. According to the agency, PPPs have been very effective and the risk has been transferred to the private sector. There have been many casualties in the case of Carillion, including the loss of 200 jobs and the impact on small suppliers and subcontractors. The risk has been transferred but, by and large, it has been carried by domestic suppliers and contractors and the fallout has been significant. School projects have been delayed. I am acutely aware of a project in my constituency where other accommodation had to be hired on an interim basis. There is a knock-on effect on the provision of subjects on the syllabus because of the lack of laboratory or other facilities. The cost is, therefore, much greater than only the financial cost.

There was a red flag over Carillion to begin with. Does the NTMA take into account such warnings when projects are being considered? I understand the need for economies of scale but that would be of value irrespective of whether it the project was undertaken by a public private partnership.