A branch of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) looks set to take charge of developments like the replacement prison for Mountjoy, and new courts and school buildings.
The Cabinet is today likely to approve a plan that will see responsibility for public-private partnerships (PPPs) operated by the departments of justice, education and health shifted to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), which is part of the NTMA.
Under the proposal, made by the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, the NDFA will take responsibility for planning for new projects for the three Government departments, and seeing them through to completion.
The work is currently being done by dedicated PPP units within the departments themselves, but it is understood that senior civil servants within those departments favour the new approach. Staff within the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform already called for the agency to take on the role in partnership with its own civil servants. If the Cabinet approves the proposal, it means that the NDFA will have the job of procuring the planning and construction of the new criminal courts complex on Infirmary Road, near Phoenix Park in Dublin, and the new prison at Thornton in north Co Dublin.
Thornton, which will eventually replace Mountjoy, the State's biggest and most notorious prison, has been dogged with controversy. The State bought the site for €30 million, a price calculated to be eight times the norm for agricultural land. Opposition parties have sought an inquiry into the purchase.
Local groups in the area are opposed to the plan and the High Court recently gave leave to one man to challenge its construction. However, the prison service has sought tenders for a project management team to manage the work. The plan will also see the NDFA take charge of projects for the Department of Education like school buildings and other facilities, and for similar schemes for the Department of Health and Children.
However, responsibility for roads will remain with the National Roads Authority and local government, and the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA) will continue to have responsibility for developing the nation's rail network. The NDFA already advises Government departments and the NRA on how to finance projects. Another branch of the NTMA, the National Pensions Reserve Fund, is also seeking ways of investing some of its money in infrastructure development projects.
