Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

Is the Taoiseach aware of a speech made by his colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, at the second Irish public private partnership policy forum on 5 April 2006? Is it not clear from that speech and from what the Taoiseach himself says that so-called public private partnership is really a flag under which this Government is relentlessly pushing the privatisation of public services? Is public private partnership not a mechanism to channel lucrative State contracts to private developers and companies, many of whom contribute to right wing political parties?

What does the Taoiseach make of the Minister for Finance's boast that a large number of water projects are now being developed on a design-build-operate basis? Will the Government's next step be to privatise the water supply to homes, thereby reintroducing water charges which a people's movement forced out previously as an unjust extra tax?

Is the Taoiseach satisfied with how Dublin City Council operates the public private partnership policies of his Government? Public housing projects are being effectively turned over to private developers.

See this speech in context