Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2010
322 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Transport the amount of money allocated in the departmental budget in respect of public private partnerships in 2010; if the allocation is set to rise to €600 million per annum and when the higher level of PPP payments will begin; the amount that has been spent on PPP payments each year from 2000 to 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29323/10]
View answerTo date the only contractually committed Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, which involve ongoing operational payments, relate to the National Roads Authority's first roads PPP programme. The first operational payments in relation to these projects arose in 2007 and, as indicated in response to an earlier question from the Deputy, I have been advised by the National Roads Authority (NRA) that an operational payment of €4.6m. was made in that year in respect of one project.
Since 2008 funding has been provided from a specific subhead in my Department's current budget to cover operational payments for the NRA's roads programme as follows:
2008 €7.936 million;
2009 €7.936 million.
The amount allocated in the Department's vote for 2010 for this subhead is €51million and it is expected that the provision for operational payments under this programme will peak in 2011 at around €85 million. The final figure payable each year is determined by the inflation rate.
The NRA has initiated a second PPP roads programme and tender competitions in relation to a number of projects are currently underway. The timing and amount of PPP payments in respect of these projects will depend on final contractual arrangements. It is not envisaged that payments will arise before 2013 on the schemes included in the second roads PPP programme.
The T21 priority public transport projects, Metro North and Dart Underground, will be delivered by PPP. Neither of these projects has as yet received planning approval and the procurement processes are ongoing.
Payments associated with these projects can only be established once the procurement process is complete and final contracts signed.
