A Comparative Case Study to Determine the Correlation That Exists Between the Irish PPP and the UK PFI Policies

This research attempts to examine the previous pathway and current state of play in relation to the Irish PPP policy. Commentators have identified that the origins and progression of the Irish PPP programme can be traced back to the UK PFI (PPP) policy. The focus of this study is to examine the relationship, notably ‘the correlation’ that exists between both the Irish PPP and the UK PFI policies. In doing so we examine the components of both policies to try to ascertain what drove Ireland and the UK to introduce such measures, alongside the subsequent amendments that were deemed necessary. In addition, we attempt to understand what incentivises the state to engage in this form of procurement and to acknowledge the element of change that is occurring within that landscape. Our focus is centred upon the Economic, Legal, and Public Policy perspectives and how each element retains an influence over that process. In doing so we identify that the Irish authorities developed an astuteness ‘a niche approach’ towards the class of investment that it was willing to invest in as part of its national procurement plan; however, as the findings suggest, this was alluded to during the negotiations surrounding the NBP. In contrast, the approach taken by the Irish authorities appears to counteract the actions of the UK government who regarded the offerings of PFI as a panacea, regardless of the cost. As a consequence of which, the then UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond announced in October 2018, that the UK would no longer engage in PFI on the basis that the policy had become untenable. As a consequence of the UK’s departure from the EU, Ireland is now facing an uncertain future in relation to its reliance upon UK case law ‘legal precedent’; as means of addressing challenges made against its procurement decisions. From a public policy perspective, we expose the influence of the Department of Finance upon the decision-making process, alongside the homogenisation that has evolved between the EIB, the NTMA, and the NFDA. We conclude this study by reaching a determination, as to where this policy now sits as a component of the public procurement regime