Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
314. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if there is a cap on the aggregate level of annual expenditure on PPP unitary payments, relative to the Exchequer capital envelope; if any work has been carried out this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13212/24]
View answer315. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the percentage level of PPP unitary payments as a share of each vote capital budget, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13213/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 315 together.
PPPs have been very useful in facilitating the delivery of important infrastructure, particularly in previous years when the Exchequer was seriously constrained in terms of its ability to fund infrastructure directly. PPPs, and their use of private finance on an off-balance sheet basis, enabled projects to proceed which would not otherwise have been deliverable on the basis of Exchequer funding alone.
A new Investment Policy Framework for PPPs was introduced in 2015 which sought to limit the total financial exposure associated with all PPPs (existing plus new/planned) in any individual year to 10% of the aggregate Exchequer capital allocation for that year. Following a review by an expert group carried out in 2018 it was recommended that the policy should return to the original budget control mechanism, whereby, the capital value of PPPs should be charged to the capital allocation of Departments, effectively meaning that there will be no distinction between procurement options for budgetary control purposes and the 10% cap on PPP costs introduced in 2015 should no longer apply.
The following table sets out the amounts allocated towards PPP costs in 2024 relative to the overall allocation given on an individual Vote basis.
|
Vote |
2024 Allocation €000 |
2024 PPP Costs €000 |
PPP Costs as % of 2024 Allocation |
|
DFHERIS |
652,848 |
39,000 |
6.0% |
|
Education |
940,150 |
70,000 |
7.4% |
|
Housing |
3,886,265 |
30,000 |
0.8% |
|
Health |
1,234,030 |
17,000 |
1.4% |
|
Transport |
2,679,450 |
97,000 |
3.6% |
|
OPW |
288,000 |
23,000 |
8.0% |
|
Courts |
67,514 |
39,383 |
58.3% |
|
Total* |
13,015,866 |
315,383 |
2.4% |
* Total is the overall capital allocation to Departments in 2024.
