The Workers’ Party have said that the liquidation today (Tuesday) of Sammon Contracting Ireland as part of the continuing fallout of the collapse of UK Carillion consortium must prompt an immediate halt to any proposed new Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in this country.
Workers’ Party Meath representative, Seamus McDonagh, said that while the most immediate issue must be the completion of the now stalled school construction projects including the major Maynooth Education campus, the Eureka school in Kells and a number of other schools, an urgent review of all proposed PPPs should be launched by the government and an immediate halt to the signing of any further such contracts
The Workers’ Party spokesman also called for immediate efforts by the Department of Education to ensure that the projects would be completed as soon as possible and to protect the jobs of workers on the site.
Mr. McDonagh said that the domino effect of the Carillion collapse uncovered the vulnerability of such projects and showed that the entire Public Private Partnership concept was fatally flawed and was detrimental to the public interest.
“The outsourcing of these major public construction projects to Carillion and its partners has been a disaster. Carillion was also to continue to have a role in the such projects into the future and it is vital that it will not be repeated whether in the construction and running of schools, hospitals, prisons or any other such project”
McDonagh said: “As of now the PPP concept is in tatters. It has lost all credibility and is fatally flawed in that it leaves the state to pick up the pieces at a massive additional cost to the Irish taxpayers. It also leaves thousands of pupils and parents with worry and uncertainty as they do not know when or if their new school will be delivered”