Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply but it is not informative regarding what different actions he plans to take to reduce the period. Perhaps the Minister will confirm my understanding that he has had a number of high level discussions with key players in this field who have identified some of the problems, such as the high cost of the bidding process and the delays experienced. Has the Minister any practical proposals to submit that would begin to progress events more quickly?

There is a great deal of scepticism among all parties in the House as to whether PPPs represent good value for money. One reason for this is the reluctance or refusal of the Department of Finance to allow any publication of the comparators which would show standard public sector procedures versus PPPs. Some doubts have been cast on the education programmes where the Minister had access in the case of the Comptroller and Auditor General, although he condemns these doubts as unfair. Will the Minister publish the comparators to lend us confidence about delivering value in the system? This would support his approach if he were to simplify the bidding process. On the basis of what has been achieved since the 2004 budget, does the Minister believe he will deliver this year's target for the PPPs regarding the user charges and the non-user charges?

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