Labour question loophole in stamp duty payment

THE Labour Party claimed last night that a combined deal by a State agency and a private consortium to buy out a docklands site would see the developer saving €32 million in stamp duty.

The Department of the Environment yesterday announced that a private group led by developer Bernard McNamara and the Dublin Docklands Development authority would pay €412 million to buy out the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend.

However, Labour’s finance spokesperson Joan Burton last night raised what she said was a “loophole” that would allow the private group avoid large duty payments.