Vol. 508 No. 1
406 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Finance the precise procedure for the selection of public private partnerships to be included in the national development plan, both in terms of independent economic and transparent appraisal on the relative costs of the public private partnerships versus the conventional public capital programme, as well as the competitive selection process for those who would be granted the contracts. [18167/99]
As I have said before, there are a number of criteria for the selection of potential PPP projects, including: the economic case for the project; the impact, if any, on the general Government balance; the cost effectiveness of any private funding; efficiency gains which private sector involvement could secure; the potential to generate revenue; legal and regulatory aspects and possible supply constraints in the economy.
The key criteria are that any PPP project be a national priority and that it show value for money over the lifetime of the project. In relation to the first criterion, whether any particular proposal for investment in infrastructure is a national priority will depend on how that proposal advances national policy in the sector in question. The question of priority will also depend on other issues such as the economic case for the project. Essentially, the first key criterion is whether a project is worth pursuing in itself, irrespective of the route adopted – particularly if public money will be required for the project.
