The not so good, the bad and the ugly: Over twelve years of PPP in Ireland

Public-private partnerships have been adopted extensively in Ireland for over 12 years. This article analyses the practice of PPP procurement at the level of local government. It adopts economic and governance perspectives on PPP which highlight challenges with procurement under PPP such as complexity, uncertainty, hold-up, transparency and accountability. These perspectives provide a basis for an analysis ofthree cases ofPPP procurement. Two cases from the water services sector illuminate problems arising from the complexity ofvalue for money assessment at the ex ante contracting stage. These cases were also characterised by governance problems stemming from central government s role as policy advocate and steward ofpublic funds. The case of PPP to deliver social housing also demonstrated the challenges ofprocurement under conditions of economic uncertainty and difficulties with achieving appropriate levels of risk transfer. All three cases demonstrate the value of stakeholder consultation in terms of meeting the governance challenges faced when adopting PPP.