The new Pac report says committee members have not had "appropriate access to information" on recent PPP projects. "This committee believes that this obstacle [access of information] needs to be overcome. Public accountability and value for money are very important issues, " the report concludes.

The report criticises the lack of information on PPP projects. "Limited parliamentary access to key information on major PPP contracts has diminished accountability of government to the D�il, " the report states.

"The full details of many projects, often large-scale and high-profile, have not been subject to public scrutiny."

The Pac, chaired by Fine Gael TD Michael Noonan, concludes that "the excessive use of 'commercial-in-confidence clauses' prevents the full disclosure of details such as the value-for-money comparator and the expected return on investment."

The report, overseen by Green Party TD Dan Boyle, states that PPPs have been playing an increasingly important role in the government's capital-investment programme. "The transport and water and waste sectors have seen the most activity to date [while] there have been four road PPP projects in the past five years with a further six in procurement."

The government recently announced several new PPP projects for court and prison buildings as well as in areas of health and education. The new National Development Plan features 73 PPP projects, including sewage treatment plants and schools.