Piloting Public-Private Partnerships: Expensive Lessons from Ireland's Schools' Sector

In 1999 the Irish government launched a programme of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for the purpose of achieving better value for money in public procurement. This article analyses the procurement of the contract for five secondary schools, which was the first Irish PPP to reach the stage of operation. It highlights a number of problems with the procurement process, which are likely to result in a failure to achieve value for money. By exploring these problems in detail, the authors provide lessons for countries adopting PPPs.