Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for Finance the person who will be responsible for project appraisal to ensure National Development Plan programme objectives and value for money are achieved as promised in Chapter 12 of the plan; the resources that will be directed towards project appraisal; the reports that will be issued regarding project appraisal; if such reports will be publicly available; the amount of time such reports will be submitted prior to the commencement of a project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3874/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Departments and implementing agencies are responsible for the appraisal of NDP projects and programmes in their own specific areas. It will be their responsibility to ensure that they have the necessary expertise to discharge their functions with regard to the proper and rigorous appraisal of projects and thus secure the best Value for Money.

Within my own Department, the recently established Central Expenditure Evaluation Unit (CEEU) will play an important role in the general oversight of the appraisal and Value for Money practice across the system. A function of the CEEU is to promote best practice in the evaluation and implementation of programme and project expenditure. It will focus in particular on ensuring that Department of Finance frameworks in relation to the appraisal and management of programmes and projects are being implemented. The Unit will carry out spot checks to verify this.

As a general rule, project appraisals including Cost Benefit Analyses (CBAs) are not published. They contain commercially sensitive information, the publication of which could be prejudicial to the State's capacity to get best Value for Money in the procurement of capital projects.