Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I presume the Deputy is referring to the comments that Mr. John Purcell, the former Comptroller and Auditor General, made during his recent appearance on a television programme. Speaking after his retirement, Mr. Purcell noted that public private partnerships are not a panacea for all of our infrastructure requirements and that PPP procurement suits appropriate projects. In the 2008 public capital programme, the Government set targets for PPP investment that average 16% of total capital investment per annum for the period 2008 to 2012. Hence, the majority of public capital projects will continue to be delivered using conventional public sector procurement.

The former Comptroller and Auditor General also noted, at a recent hearing of the Committee of Public Accounts on 17 April, that "it is not the case that PPP is good and traditional procurement is bad, or vice versa" but rather that "certain situations are more suitable to PPP solutions". I agree with these views. PPPs are one of the options available to Government to serve its objectives. I have no plans to abandon that option.

Naturally, there are a variety of PPP models that can be applied in the procurement of projects. In choosing to adopt the PPP approach for particular projects, Departments and agencies must assess, in conjunction with their advisers, the optimum structure to use, including whether to include private finance. In this regard, State authorities have access to the financial expertise of the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, to assist them in determining the optimum means of financing public investment projects in order to achieve value for money. The NDFA can also advise State authorities on all aspects of financing, refinancing and insurance, including risk analysis.

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