Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will assess the success of the various public private partnerships undertaken by his Department in recent years, in areas in which he views a need for improvement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22275/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Public private partnerships, PPPs, represent an important additional procurement option for local authorities in providing important infrastructure in areas such as water, wastewater, waste and housing. To date, more than 100 PPP projects, with an estimated capital cost of €2.1 billion, have been completed or are at various stages of progress in the local government sector. Most of these projects are in the water and wastewater sector and are being provided with funding from my Department on the basis of design, build and operate contracts.

This type of PPP has made a significant contribution to meeting the requirements of the urban wastewater and drinking water directives as well as meeting the needs of an expanding population and economy. Dublin Bay wastewater and Cork, Limerick and Wexford main drainage projects are among the major projects which have been completed. Other significant PPP projects which are at various stages of the process include major housing regeneration projects at Fatima Mansions and O'Devaney Gardens in Dublin city, affordable housing initiative projects at Infirmary Road and Jamestown Road in Dublin city and the Dublin thermal treatment-waste to energy project. More than 70 further potential PPP projects are being investigated.

A second measure of success for my Department's PPP programme is the amount of private finance which is coming forward which, depending on the results of tendering processes still under way, is estimated to fall within a range of €550 million to €700 million. Both the progress illustrated above across a diverse range of projects, together with the significant level of private financing being harnessed, indicate that my Department's PPP programme is performing effectively.

My Department which is represented on the interdepartmental and informal advisory PPP groups chaired by the Department of Finance is working in these fora to improve the PPP process. In particular, it is hoped to reduce the complexity and costs of the process, with a view to increasing the number of projects and enhancing the speed and efficiency with which they can be delivered.