Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Public Private Partnerships: Discussion
1:30 pm
Mr. Kevin Meaney:
That would break down on a project-by-project basis. We go to tender seeking a price from them and obviously they have to build in the profit margin themselves. Whatever price comes back absolutely undergoes that value for money assessment. I will give some safeguards we are aware of. The transport sector might be a good example. Within the specifications TII would issue in a PPP are expected travel numbers that might pass through, especially if there are tolls and user charges to pay back. We are aware that in quite a few of the TII contracts, if, say, there are more users than in the specification, some of that money comes back to TII. That is a control whereby if demand is actually way in excess of what was expected at the time, the State benefits from some of that excess demand. It is a way of limiting the profits to a more normal level and ensuring the State accrues some of the benefit if there is extra demand and extra usage.
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