Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will reply to Deputy O'Brien's questions first. There is an indirect cost to the State if a project is being delivered through a PPP or another procurement strategy and the project does not happen and people are in alternative accommodation being paid for by the State. The Deputy is correct. That is the case whether it is a school or a house.

Regarding my approach to PPPs, I agree with Deputy Burton that the context in which we have to evaluate PPPs has now changed. It has changed because the rate at which the State can borrow money is very different and, most fundamentally, we can borrow money in a way we could not between 2011 and 2014. That is why my approach to PPPs is very much on a case-by-case basis. I will evaluate them against the traditional approach of the State building the project directly.

We will decide if it is the right approach to take on a project-by-project and case-by-case basis because these are also fundamentally negotiations. In the next couple of weeks I will make available my overall review of PPP policy, which will develop the point I have just made.

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