More loopholes for buying State property below value may exist, admits Martin

ENTERPRISE Minister Micheál Martin has admitted there may be other legal loopholes by which private companies could obtain State-owned lands for a fraction of their real value.

Opposition parties claimed yesterday that remarks by Mr Martin indicated the Government had no idea of the scale of the problem.

However, Mr Martin insisted the Government was “fairly satisfied” that it had managed to close off the exposure of the State to the further risk of being forced to sell more property to commercial interests.

It follows the introduction of emergency legislation last May after Mr Martin admitted a company had acquired an IDA site for substantially less than the market value at a loss to the taxpayer of €10 million.

It also emerged earlier this week that another company, South Wharf, is claiming a legal entitlement to purchase a valuable 25-acre site owned by Dublin Port.

Speaking on RTÉ radio yesterday, the minister accepted that the Government could not rule out the possibility that further loopholes existed.

Under an anomaly that existed in the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rent) Amendments Act 1978, a tenant can obtain the right to buy the freehold on a property. South Wharf, a company quoted on the Irish Stock Exchange, is now hoping to use this legislation to acquire a site worth €300m from Dublin Port for less than e1m.

However, Mr Martin indicated he believed that government action had reduced most of the risk of further claims on State land.

“Not every government department is in the same position as we would have been. Because of some of the commentary, I think people are perhaps jumping to premature conclusions in relation to other departments,” said the minister.

“The Government is fairly satisfied that it has closed off any degree of exposure that is out there.”

Mr Martin said Dublin Port would “robustly contest” any attempt by South Wharf to acquire its property.

Green Party finance spokesman Dan Boyle described the ongoing uncertainty on the issue as “absolutely scandalous”.

“Once again the Government has proved to be utterly incompetent when it comes to responsible government as bankers of the public’s money,” he said.

Fine Gael environment spokesman Fergus O’Dowd said an audit of State property conducted by the Office of Public Works should indicate what sites were at risk.

He questioned why the Government and Mr Martin were “clueless” about the size of the problem if the audit was carried out as promised.