Mr. John McCarthy:

If there was any situation where proper value was not being obtained for the use of public funds, it would certainly be a concern. I will try to explain this because it is about different valuations. Ultimately the final valuation that was done by the internal valuer in Galway City Council, and the basis upon which the borrowing approval was put to the city council, was on the basis that the site would accommodate 97 units. If we look at the range of valuations that were provided initially, at the outset of the process it would have equated to about €9.7 million. It would have been between the second and the third highest valuations. The valuation then done by the internal valuer was on the basis of a figure in excess of €11.1 million, so there was a gap of €1.4 million. From the papers I have seen. it appears to me that before the contract was finalised, and before a price was agreed, there was an updated assessment done around similar transactions in the area and the price was brought back to €10.5 million.