Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I suggest to the Chairman that we should bring in representatives of the Department of Education and Skills to talk about the purchase price of that particular site but also this one, because as an auctioneer and not having viewed the site, and I know Dr. Brady cannot give the Savills valuation, I believe the current value of the six acres at Harold's Cross, with its current zoning, is probably €750,000 an acre. With the appropriate zoning to allow for institutional use, the market value is probably €1.5 million an acre, which is very substantially less than €23 million. Dr. Brady mentioned the Rehab site. That is ironic because, similarly, while those values would apply, and I believe that site was in Sandyford, which would not be as good an area in terms of property values, the Department of Education and Skills paid more than €5 million per acre for institutional zoning for a site on which there was a listed building. To my mind, that is a multiple of the value per acre. There is a major value for money issue here and there is also the coincidence of Bord na gCon's entire debt having to match broadly the profile of the proposed purchase price.

In terms of the split of the €13 million and the €10 million to be worked out subject to contract, as Mr. Murnane said, is there a structure to the deal in that if Bord na gCon does not get zoning, it will get €13 million and not the additional €10 million?