Accountability, transparency and financial performance: a review of motorway PPPs in Ireland

This paper seeks to address the complete absence of detailed knowledge about the financial aspects of Ireland’s road PPP programme to date. Following a review of relevant literature on the history of PPP procurement in the... [ view full abstract ]

This paper seeks to address the complete absence of detailed knowledge about the financial aspects of Ireland’s road PPP programme to date. Following a review of relevant literature on the history of PPP procurement in the European context the paper describes the extent of road infrastructure procured as PPPs in Ireland to date. It proceeds to conduct a financial analysis of the road PPPs that became operational by 2010. This analysis provides details of the financial structure of the deals completed and the payments made by government to support these projects. We then use financial ratios that focus on the companies’ income, costs and the returns to the providers of finance. The paper concludes with a discussion of results and the methodological issues that became apparent as the research developed. Specifically, the shortcomings discussed concern the inadequate information about these deals that is provided by public authorities and the private PPP companies themselves. This has important implications for the legitimacy of the PPP method of procurement and presents a major governance challenge for policy makers adopting PPP now or in the future.