Financial watchdog wants PPP transparency
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned of a serious lack of transparency in the deals being increasingly used to fund major infrastructure deals.
A probe by the influential Dáil committee expressed concern and frustration that, when examining major projects like the West Link Toll Bridge/M50 and the Cork School of Music, it did not have the appropriate access to information.
Green TD and PAC member Dan Boyle said the committee was aware of the commercial sensitivities involved in knowing the details of such contracts and pledged the details would only be available to the 12 PAC members.
Despite not being able to make such information public, the TDs claimed they could still use it to issue general warnings of projects that were going wrong.
Labour finance spokesperson and PAC member, Joan Burton, said there was a place for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), but they must be transparent and accountable with value for money being the key component.
Fianna Fáil member Sean Fleming insisted the Dáil could have scrutiny over contracts, without scaring away potential commercial partners.
The PAC went on to warn that Ireland was falling behind countries like Canada and Australia, which managed to combine widespread use of PPPs with a high level of parliamentary accountability.
