Vol. 553 No. 5
112 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Finance, in regard to the commitment given in An Agreed Programme for Government, when the national development finance agency will be established; the proposed role of the agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14490/02]
The programme for Government undertakes to address Ireland's infrastructural deficit in a coherent and determined way over the next five years. We believe that new methods of financing major capital programmes are required to achieve this. These must take account of the need to maximise efficiency, delivery, value for money and appropriate risk transfer across multi-annual programmes. Accordingly, we will establish a national development finance agency or NDFA to finance major public projects and to evaluate financing options for PPP projects. This agency may finance both commercial and non-commercial type projects.
The NDFA will enable the Government to apply commercial standards in evaluating financial risks, costs and options associated with projects thereby ensuring that the best financial package is availed of in each instance. The NDFA may compete with, but will not substitute for, private financing of PPP projects but will be an additional mechanism to be used in the context of achieving value for money and risk transfer in PPP projects.
