Docklands body seeks state aid

THE Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) has appealed to the Government for financial support after writing down the value of land assets by €186 million.

The value of the controversial Glass Bottle site in Ringsend that it bought for €412m in 2006 with real-estate developers Derek Quinlan and Bernard McNamara in 2006 had fallen to €50m at the end of 2008.

The authority said it had taken “an exceptionally aggressive” approach to property writedowns last year. It posted an operating loss of €27m for last year, according to its annual report and acknowledged that public confidence in the authority had been “seriously undermined” in recent months.

It described last year as an exceptionally difficult one and chairwoman Professor Niamh Brennan said the state-owned authority needs assistance from the Government to complete its projects.

The loss compares with a profit a year earlier of €3.7m. Revenue fell 18% to €30.7m.

Prof Brennan said the collapse of the property market posed huge problems for the organisation.

“The financial challenge posed to the authority by the collapse of property values will require ongoing work as we have to adjust to what will essentially be a new business model,” said Prof Brennan, who was appointed to the role of chairwoman in March of this year.

The DDDA has suffered greatly because of links to Anglo Irish Bank. Last June, its chairman, Lar Bradshaw resigned. In December, it emerged that as a non-executive director at Anglo he was party to millions of euro in directors’ loans. Anglo’s former chairman, Sean FitzPatrick, resigned his seat on the board of DDDA for the same reason. The DDDA has also been involved in a number of controversial decisions.

The money for the Glass Bottle site was borrowed from Anglo

The DDDA also granted permission for Liam Carroll to build the new offices for Anglo, only for the High Court to find it did so improperly and the building should be razed.

Prof Brennan said: “Together, the fall in property values and the adverse ruling of the High Court will have a profound impact on the Docklands Authority and how we conduct our business for years to come.”

Hard work and tough decisions are now required to restore the organisation’s financial position and restore public confidence in its operations, she added.

It is estimated that the deficit the authority will record this year will be “substantially” lower than in 2008.

Fine Gael environment spokesman Phil Hogan is demanding that the executive and board of the DDDA should appear with the current DDDA chairperson and executive at the Oireachtas Committee meeting next Tuesday.