Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are starting at an incredibly low base so the percentage increases will leave us playing catch up. The Central Bank has said that Government investment has declined by two-thirds since 2008. One of the ways we have been sourcing money because of EU fiscal rules is the public private partnership, PPP, model. Research in Britain shows that public private partnerships cost, on average, between 13% and 19%. How mad is that when money can be got for 1%? I know that the EU fiscal rules do not allow us to borrow money at 1% and invest it in infrastructure but they should. On what basis can the EU say to a country like Ireland that is playing catch up in terms of infrastructure investment that it cannot borrow money at 1%? Why will it not allow for flexibility under the fiscal rules so that we can borrow money at 1% to invest in infrastructure? It is a no-brainer and a win win all around investment in infrastructure whereas paying a PPP between 13% and 19% is not.

After all, the bill must be paid some time. Just because it is stretched over 30 years does not mean it is cheap.

See this speech in context