Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will ask both Mr. Jones and Mr. Keran this. In the previous session, we had a long exchange with the Department about market value versus what is called transaction value or the actual price paid. I raised a question around the transaction value impact on the market value. Imagine that up to a certain point in time, land has a value of X euro per hectare. Then somebody comes in or there is some change in Government policy. Co-living was the example I used. A development site in Dublin 8 had planning permission for a three-storey mixed-use residential, commercial and restaurant development. Co-living came in and that changed the planning rules. An international development collective acquired the land and overnight doubled the price of the land. It went from a reported market purchase value of €4 million to something like €10 million. That has an impact on the potential market value realisable for everyone else who has land in that area. The Department was clear that it was market value at the point in time and not about transaction values. Do the witnesses understand why that would be the case or is that something about which we are better talking to land valuers and land management experts who will appear before the committee? Why would extant planning permission be excluded? Surely, it would be materially relevant to the market value. A speculator acquires land and gets planning permission. What was the famous one that was in the news? It was the chipper site in Drumcondra where someone acquired land and got planning permission on a promise of development to the elected members. The land was rezoned and the speculator flipped it for twice the purchase value. It was a high-profile case in the newspapers.

The witnesses thought they would get away early and Mr. Jones dropped us all in it again.