A Public Private Partnership is a collaboration between a public body, such as the Government or a local authority, and a private company. It is a method of procuring public services and infrastructure using the skills and capital of private companies.
Under some PPP schemes, a private company will pay for the construction costs of a project and then rent the finished project back to the Government or local authority. Other schemes involve the company building a public amenity, such as a road, in return for the right to charge a toll to motorists on that road.
According to the Government website, www.ppp.gov.ie, PPPs can provide public services and infrastructure "in the most economically efficient manner". However, there is by no means a consensus on the issue, with those opposed to PPPs pointing to project delays, cost overruns and exorbitant profits for the private companies involved.