Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will probably second-guess my concerns and those of others in the House. We are concerned that, although PPPs may deliver key infrastructure, the State is becoming more and more dependant on them, noticeably in housing provision. For example, we are told that 1,500 housing units will be delivered by PPPs. They will be financed, built and maintained by private operators for 25 years. This is also true of schools, water infrastructure and transport, yet there have been numerous studies carried out, one as recently as 2013 by the University of Limerick, which show that there is no strong evidence to support the idea that PPPs deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.

It is a bit like me as a householder buying my fridge or television on hire purchase rather than paying for it outright or borrowing money from the credit union to pay for it. The State is being forced into a model of PPP that is ultimately much more expensive for the taxpayer without delivering the results we need. We are being forced into it by having to borrow off-balance sheet and because we are being told that we cannot spend over a certain amount on our infrastructure.

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