Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. It is important to say that the PPP method should only be used where value for money can be demonstrated. It is one option in terms of the possible financing of a range of projects. There are currently 11 higher education projects in the pipeline for delivery by way of PPP. They are split into two bundles. The Deputy probably has all the details, but I am happy to provide them separately to her if necessary.

It is important to make the point that if one is comparing the cost of a PPP with the Exchequer funded option of delivering a capital project, one has to take account of the fact that the payments made by the Exchequer over the life of the PPP contract include not just the construction costs but also the cost of finance, operations and maintenance and, indeed, the overall lifecycle. It is one option, but it should only be used where value for money can clearly be demonstrated and the interests of taxpayers are protected. There are many examples of pieces of infrastructure that would probably not exist today if we did not choose the PPP option.

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