How will devolution affect the public procurement market in Northern Ireland?
Devolution has focused attention on the deficiencies in the public sector capital infrastructure in Northern Ireland that has developed over many years.
There is evidence of a backlog of investment in roads, the water and sewerage system, health and education estates and many other sectors.
There is clearly a need for this backlog to be addressed.
Within the spending limits available to the Executive for the foreseeable future there is limited scope to make good these deficiencies through conventional procurement without severely curtailing the development of services.
The Public Private Partnerships provide a means of helping to address infrastructure deficits in some cases. By focusing on the acquisition of services rather than the underlying asset PFI/PPP, can allow private sector resources to be mobilised for the benefit of public services.
There is mounting evidence throughout the United Kingdom and in Ireland that PFI/PPP solutions can deliver substantial improvements in infrastructure and deliver value for money to the public sector.