Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising the TC3 issue. Last night, I was informed by a number of Dún Laoghaire councillors that the chief executive had taken the decision to do a land swap. I do not want to get into too much detail and I am conscious of what I am saying, but will the Minister examine the record of this committee? I raised this matter a number of times. I have the exact dates. I went to the trouble of finding them because I knew that this particular case would be raised. I always opposed the establishment of a company that was at arm's length from the council and in which the latter had no function.

From speaking with a number of councillors this morning, I am reliably informed that they had no hand, act or part in the decision to dispose of the land. At this committee, I requested that the director of the Local Government Audit Service, LGAS, examine the issue and the general question of having a company that was indebted, insolvent and propped up by the shareholder, namely, the council. In this case, the shareholder's agent is the chief executive. DLR Properties Limited has a board.

Many months ago, I raised questions at this committee about zoning issues. I have also raised questions with the council. This site had the potential to build hundreds of residential units. I am not suggesting that they should all have been social or affordable housing, but there could have been an imaginative mix that also included offices. It is located in a strategic development zone, the second such zone in the country. That zone could be one of the most successful, given its Luas connectivity, schools and the great infrastructure that was front-loaded into this scheme.

I am not dropping the Minister into a situation. I am on record as appealing to him about this issue. Will he speak to the director of the LGAS and examine her qualified notes in respect of DLR Properties Limited? In her 2017 report, she raised concerns about this company. The company has been raised a number of times in local government auditing reports.

Is the deal complete? We may not be able to do anything. Some weeks ago, I asked the Minister to look into this issue and that the message be conveyed to him that it would be looked into. Now, the councillors have been informed - after the election as opposed to beforehand even though this situation had been ongoing - of the swap. The bottom line is these are public moneys. This is not a company that is rich in cash. It is indebted. We are discussing taxpayers' money. There are serious issues. The council is swapping a debt for another debt or property. I do not want to go into too much detail because I am conscious that this is a public meeting, but I appeal to the Minister to seek a full briefing from the chief executive of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on the background and reasons involved and the debt to which the company is exposed. Forget about who is involved - this is all debt guaranteed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. I am not sure whether that is a satisfactory situation, given that the company is effectively at arm's length from the council. It has an executive and a board. As a limited company, it has its own directors. To be fair, some of them are councillors, but they are not allowed to discuss any aspect of this business with the local authority.

An alarm bell must be ringing at this meeting. Where any company that is wholly owned by a local authority yet is at arm's length from it and not accountable to it, serious concerns arise.

I ask the Minister to take a look at this TC3 issue and to ascertain its background. I will collaborate with a number of Oireachtas Members today in suggesting that if it means bringing people before a committee of the Houses, we should do so. I suggest to the Minister that he will have a number of parliamentary questions in a matter of days on this issue. There is outrage about this locally. We need answers and if it is possible, within the constraints of the Minister's position and the sensitivities around it, I seek some sort of report on it. There is a lot to be found out and to be inquired into and I ask the Minister to use his office to do so.