Mr. Paul O'Toole:

The Cabra training centre was purchased by AnCO in 1975. It was formerly a factory which made bowling alley equipment, as we understand it. It was purchased for approximately €400,000 and over time AnCO and then FÁS spent €7 million on improvements to it, equipping it, modernising it and all the things that needed to be done over that period of time. The State's investment over 35 years was €7.4 million in capital and tens of thousands of people were either trained in the centre or their training was managed from that centre. It closed in 2010 and at the time we took a view on the property. What has happened is two State organisations are going to utilise it. An Post is developing a sorting office there and the remainder of the site and building is going to the Department of Education and Skills for a new national school. That is what happened the investment over the period of time.

The impairment charge arises because the carrying value in our books, which is the historical cost of the centre less accumulated depreciation, was greater than the commercial value as an alternative use. There is no market in FÁS training centres so when the issue crystalises if one closes a centre and one looks at it commercially, it is what alternative use could be made of it. At that time in 2010 the valuation was €1.5 million, but there was a charge relating to the roof and therefore it became a net €1.2 million. That has been taken up by An Post and the Department of Education and Skills. The impairment charge therefore arises because we sought to depreciate the building and the improvements over a 50 year period at 2% per annum, and the historical cost, the accumulated depreciation and the carrying value was greater than €1.2 million. That is where the impairment charge arises.