Sir, – Dr Sean Barrett pulls no punches in his article ‘Government ignored IMF warnings about hospital’ (Opinion, December 19th). I would endorse many of his arguments about the need for robust appraisal of public infrastructure projects.
However, I would not agree with Dr Barrett’s conclusion that the recent IMF Report “. . . was highly critical of public investment . . .”.
Rather, the IMF conclusion is: “Overall, Ireland manages its public infrastructure relatively well, with strengths and weaknesses across each of the three phases of the public investment management cycle” (Page 8, IMF: Public Investment Management Assessment of Ireland, November 2017). It is good to know that a critical eye is being kept on the roll-out of public investment in Ireland. – Yours, etc,
TOM FERRIS,
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Blackrock, Co Dublin.