Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

There are two issues on the value. Clearly the Minister has no clue about land values. Anyone who does not realise that five acres which is zoned for building has enormous value as opposed to agricultural land that is unzoned realises nothing. Incidentally, the five acres was originally supposed to be included and at the last minute it was excluded. This farm was the dearest farm in Europe. The Minister would not allow the Comptroller and Adjutant General to examine the situation before the sale was completed and I can see why.

Given that the Minister has now completed the deal and thrown away the taxpayers' money, is there not considerable evidence that this site is very unsuitable? Access is terribly bad and the roads are not suitable for the traffic at the moment. The public services are not in place, which it will cost a fortune to install. The Minister said to me at one stage that he would not listen to any old guff about fairy forts. If he had any sense of culture or history, would he not accept that there is a wealth of history and archaeology in the area? What timeframe is he proposing and what is the cost estimate for the structure he intends to build on the site?

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