Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will follow up on that in relation to subsection (p). It is inherently bad value. There have been counterproductive attempts to constantly push private partnership into situations where public delivery should lead. The problem is subsection (p) is muddy and it talks about public-private collaboration in relation to private land, agency land and public land. We know public delivery of public housing on public land develops better public value in the current context. Yet the insertion of private bodies into that mix means those bodies' goals have to be satisfied. In many cases, those goals are a profit and a dividend. If they are commercial bodies, that is their goal and function.

I am concerned. Perhaps there will be scope when the agency talks about what are or are not appropriate mechanisms but many of the mechanisms which have been used in the State's relationships with private and, in some cases, speculative bodies have not been appropriate.