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Primary Care Centres Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 October 2012

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Questions (287)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

287. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he intends that the 20 Primary Care Centres announced in the Stimulus Package on 17 July last would be tendered as two bundles of ten centres and if it is still his intention that such tenders would cover the provision and maintenance only of such centres and that these would come into public ownership after a twenty five year period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46249/12]

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Written answers

My Department has issued guidelines to assist State authorities in carrying out their responsibilities and functions regarding the assessment, approval, audit and procurement of PPP projects. It is a matter for each Minister as the sanctioning authority for projects to take all the relevant policy decisions about projects in accordance with these guidelines. The State Authorities (Public Private Partnership Arrangements) Act 2002 sets out the types of PPP arrangements that State authorities may enter into. This includes the type of arrangement described by the Deputy.

The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) provides advice to sanctioning authorities on all capital projects with a value of over 20m euro. The NDFA will provide financial, insurance and risk analysis advice to State authorities to assist in determining the most appropriate procurement mechanism. The NDFA also procures projects on behalf of State authorities. Decisions as to the type of PPP arrangements to be entered into are a matter for each Sanctioning Authority, with advice from the NDFA.

The NDFA as a centre of PPP expertise will be responsible for the delivery of the Primary Care PPP programme on behalf of the HSE. I understand that it is anticipated that any grouped contract will comprise at least 10 centres in order to be of sufficient scale to make them attractive to the PPP market. However, the precise nature of the composition of any grouped contracts, including the number of centres within any one contract, the scope of facility support services to be provided and the term of the PPP contract are currently being examined. In line with standard PPP structures, it is expected the Primary Care Centres will remain in the ownership of the HSE throughout the term of the PPP contract, with the PPP companies selected being granted a licence to construct the centres and to provide the required facility support services.

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