Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Is there anyone before the committee today who was on the board at the time? In hindsight, was the board consulted properly at the time on the purchase? I am not in any way saying that people were doing things that were in any way underhand. I am not questioning the motives. If I was buying something and I had a report with a question over right of access at the Meelick site, I would have gone to the public auction. However, if the site did not make the bid price, I would have contacted the vendor and agreed to buy it, but only subject to planning. There is no way any State body could buy land in those circumstances in future. It had agricultural zoning not commercial zoning. The site had problems with access. Clearly, it was an unsuitable site.

The organisation put in €1.4 million. The site was bought for €1 million. Was the organisation being penny wise and pound foolish at the time? The board, for whatever reason, decided on a cap of €1.4 million when in fact there was a site further up the road at Greenpark for €2.2 million, that is €1.2 million less than the organisation eventually ended up paying. Is that fair comment?