Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can obtain figures for the Deputy in that regard. We disposed of a substantial number of properties in Dublin as part of the decentralisation programme. The difficulty was not so much that this property was disposed of at the top of the market but rather that announcements were made on the towns and cities to which Departments and offices were going to be decentralised and, as a result, the price of property in these locations increased exponentially. If one is going to buy something, one does not broadcast one's intentions before doing so because that would not make sense. That was the critical policy error made during the era in question. The Government has changed the policy.