State to lose out in land deal

AN Oireachtas committee will this week be asked to probe a report that a company is availing of a legal loophole to acquire a State property valued at €300 million for less than €20m.

The 25-acre site in Ringsend is owned by the Dublin Port Company but let by South Wharf, which was formerly known as Ardagh Plc. Ardagh operated a glass bottle plant on the site which closed in 2002.

It was reported yesterday that South Wharf is now attempting to buy the valuable site for a fraction of its value under a loophole, which allows firms to buy the fee simple, or right of ownership, on request.

After realising the loophole could have affected as many as 1,000 State properties, Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin moved legislation to close it off.

But yesterday’s report in the Sunday Times indicated that South Wharf had made an application to acquire the land before the legislation was passed, and that the final price is being negotiated.