Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

When the contracts were being negotiated, it should have been implicit that the developers were accepting that the balance of moneys they were owed, outside of the sale of the houses themselves, should have been related to the valuation of the site. Is that a fair comment? The developer gained in the sense that he would be getting a site with vacant possession which increased its value. He ended up getting paid the balance of the sale of proceeds, based on the market value at peak, which was double the value - he was paid almost €32 million instead of €17.5 million. The contract should have been written in such a way that in the worst case scenario, the amount he was to be paid would be based on the valuation of the site, which is what he was willing to accept at the time.