Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will await the outcome of that review and see what its recommendations will be, but I am sure the Minister is well aware that the IMF recently commented on the use of PPPs. It recommended:

- Consider imposing restrictions on PPPs that are more likely to impose a future fiscal burden and consider "raising the bar" by requiring PPPs to achieve higher net cost savings compared to the public-sector benchmark.

[...]

- Make public the results of [those cost-benefit anaylses] of PPP projects, and the criteria used to select them.

- Conduct more ex post reviews of PPP projects, and disseminate the results; give more weight in these reviews to the economic and social impact of PPPs.

It will be interesting to see what the outcome of the review will be and whether we will get to a position where the cost-benefit analyses will actually be published. The Minister said the current projection is about 5%, and I am glad to hear that, but I am also a little concerned that he says there is that wriggle room there because, in my opinion, the long-term economic benefits of using PPPs are questionable. That is why we need these cost-benefit analyses to be published.

See this speech in context