Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I read that in the phase 1 report of the NDP. The report concludes that the framework for PPPs is robust and it should be an option if they represent the best value for money. As the Minister said, the whole concept relates to best value for money. We have seen the 2016 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General stating they are vulnerable to legal challenges and that this can cause significant delay. We know that costly legal fees are then picked up by the taxpayer. The Parliamentary Budget Office observation was that PPPs represent a growing State liability. I take the point the Minister is making but will he commit that there will be increased monitoring of their performance as part of the NDP? As we know, legal challenges represent a cost issue. Of course there is always the quality issue as well.

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