My colleague, the Minister for Finance, provided a capital envelope of €555 million in respect of education PPPs for the period 2005 to 2008. My officials are currently examining how this may be best utilised.
A number of issues will have to be determined before I make a decision on the allocation of these funds. These include the type of PPP model to be used, the level of operation and service to be included in any new programme, how the projects should be bundled to provide the most cost effective procurement and the size and geographical spread of the bundles. Only new building projects on greenfield sites that have been prioritised using the criteria agreed with the education partners and published by my Department are likely to be considered under the Department's PPP programme. I will be announcing the programme in the near future.