Professor Eoin Reeves:

Some people find it difficult to agree with the fact that a State-owned enterprise would be far more nimble and flexible than a long-term contract, which is much more rigid. The past 20 years have shown that one of the downsides of the PPP model is that the costs of such contracts tend to escalate because, in circumstances where flexibility is required, the private sector does not provide it and instead sticks with the contract if doing so is to its advantage.