Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 22 March 2018

Public Accounts Committee

2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 4 - Overview of Public Private Partnerships

9:00 am

Mr. Robert Watt:

I think, within the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, variations in contracts are set out. So where there are variations in contracts we set that out. There are changes in performance review clauses. The Comptroller and Auditor General sets out, in detail, where that impact occurs. That information is out there and it is reviewed.

In terms of the original value for money assessment, we set out for the committee the public sector benchmark where we say, at the time the contract was established and it was decided to go ahead with the procurement of PPPs, we set out the assessment there of the costs and benefits of the PPP against the traditional.

In terms of, over time, looking at the value of any piece of infrastructure, so let us say one looks at a road that will be there for 20 or 25 years. So the benefits of the road over time would be the traffic volumes, the time savings and the impact on congestion. Reading a particular review would tell one.