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

In his recent letter, Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which has expertise, stated that the operation is projected to have a rate of return of we do not know what, which seems very high given the risk profile of its investment. Mr. Griffin stated in response that if it goes wrong and we are not happy instead of achieving that very high return the developer will get only a 5% return where the business underperforms. This is in effect a regulated asset where the State is putting in €2.25 billion upfront. With the weighted average cost of capital an investor would expect 5%. If 5% is the downside for the business, what is the rate of return on the operations? Is it 20%, is it higher or is it lower?