A Review of the PPP Experience in Ireland: Lessons for Comparative Policy Analysis

This paper examines the motivations for and performance of public–private partnerships in Ireland. PPPs were first used in the early 2000s in response to the urgent infrastructural needs of the rapidly growing Irish economy. Since the global financial crisis, the use of PPPs has been driven by the desire to deliver economic stimulus by means of off-balance-sheet financing. PPPs have made an appreciable contribution to public investment in Ireland. However, there is a scarcity of data on the performance of PPP in terms of delivering value for money (VFM). This paper questions the reliability of official data that generally indicates PPP has succeeded in delivering superior VFM compared to traditional procurement methods.