Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

These arrangements will not be made again under my watch and it would have been better if they had not been made. I will not gratuitously condemn the previous Government for agreeing to them because, at the time, nobody could have predicted the economy would crash by more than 20%. Perhaps their projections at the time were reasonable.

One must have two parties to renegotiate a contract. Many of the toll companies which do not have traffic guarantee clauses are losing money. For example, the toll company and PPP contractor for the Waterford bypass project have lost money and this will make it more difficult to agree new PPPs. One would have to offer something to renegotiate the current contracts. People will only agree to a change in a contract if they get something in return. The only thing these companies would want is a toll increase above the rate of inflation instead of a traffic guarantee mechanism. The Deputy would not support that either, which is why I am not pursuing a renegotiation of the contracts.

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