Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Politicians in this House ask for something to be done. The point of this is the economic benefit derived from continuing our public capital programme. Some people say that we should now forget about PPPs if the Comptroller and Auditor General's report is to be believed. I disagree. There are lessons to be learned as we roll out this new procurement mechanism. Not every project is suitable for a PPP but this does not mean we should have none.

One can have all the comparators one wishes and one could work under traditional mechanisms for a certain amount of money, but how long would the work take? If I were to choose between a hard financial analysis——

See this speech in context