Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 November 2021
449. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide the public sector benchmark for Carlow Institute of Further Education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56098/21]
View answerAs the deputy is aware, the Carlow Institute of Further Education & Training was delivered as part of the School Bundle 5 Public Private Partnership (PPP) project.
The development of a Public Sector Benchmark (PSB) is now a key part of the Value for Money assessment prior to proceeding with a PPP project. The PSB represents the full estimated cost, including risk to the State of delivering the project using “traditional” public sector procurement.
Current policy is that where the public sector is likely to procure a similar project in the same or other sectors in the foreseeable future, the PSB (or any elements thereof) should not be released for an appropriate period of time after the contract has been awarded to allow any commercial sensitivities to elapse.
In this regard, the PSB for the School Bundle 5 PPP project will be due to publish shortly.
