Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is not dull at all. This is an area in which any Member would be interested. There was an issue in my own constituency, which I raised at the Committee of Public Accounts when I was a member, regarding the acquisition of land through CPO by the local authority. Contracts were signed in the first few weeks but because of debt, disputes about who owned the land and this, that and the other, it took approximately five years for the local authority to pay the price agreed for the land, which had been agreed during the Celtic tiger era. The price was €3.5 million but this went to arbitration because the land was only worth €350,000 at that stage. I raised this with officials from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government when they appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts and I was told this was a case of swings and roundabouts and it could have been the other way round. I urged at the time that the legislation be reviewed and I am not surprised that many local authorities have been in touch with the commission. There has to be leeway or some way to address this valuation issue.