Vol. 501 No. 6
114 Mr. Quinn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has authorised the participation by her Department or any relevant State body in any public-private partnership; the number, if any, of these projects under way; if there are any possible public-private partnerships under negotiation between her Department and private investors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6706/99]
Generally, public-private partnership in projects is understood to involve the private sector in designing, planning, constructing and-or operating infrastructure projects normally provided by the State. This can often involve a switch by the State from capital expenditure now to current expenditure in the future.
Since coming into office, I have not had occasion to authorise my Department to participate in any public-private partnerships in the strict sense of that term. However, on a somewhat wider definition, there are a number of public-private partnerships, either planned or under way, involving agencies of my Department. For example, the IDA has been working with the private sector to develop a digital park. In addition, significant advances have been made by the IDA during the past year in pioneering new public-private partnership approaches to provide advance buildings to attract new overseas investors, especially into regional locations. Shannon Development Company is involved with similar arrangements for the provision of industrial property.
