#6: Infrastructure, National Broadband Plan; Eircom - Prof. Eoin Reeves & Dr. Donal Palcic (UL)

At The Margin

Episode 6 features Professor Eoin Reeves and Dr. Donal Palcic who are experts in analysing the financing of public infrastructure. We discuss the economics behind 'public-private partnerships' (PPPs) which are a common way for the private sector to participate in the provision of public infrastructure such as roads, hospitals and more recently, broadband. PPPs have been the subject of much debate. Eoin and Donal provide an excellent overview of the pros and cons of these methods of funding.

We discuss why PPPs have proved a popular means for public investment in recent years. We go through their use in the current national broadband plan and discuss the aspects that deserve further scrutiny, with some excellent insight offered.

We discuss the methods of financing public roads and how there is a move away from a model of tolling roads. Eoin and Donal explain the economic rationale behind this shift.

We finish up by discussing the privatisation of Eircom. We learn about the repeated mismanagement of this company and the lasting legacy that we see today, where our telecoms infrastructure is lagging behind other countries.

My thanks to Prof. Reeves and Dr. Palcic for their time and insight. Links to their papers on PPP can be found on IrishEconPod.com, including their overview of the privatisation of Eircom which is a particularly interesting read.

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