Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

To follow up on that point, the IDA sometimes holds blocks of land where projects did not work out for it. We all accept that this land was bought in good faith. Is it the Minister's intention to discuss with the IDA the possibility of it giving that land to local authorities? While the IDA wants major industry in sectors such as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, it could give these lands to local authorities or county enterprise boards at the market value at which it bought them, not at today's market value, which would ruin the local authorities and boards. I do not suggest this would solve the problem raised by Deputy Wall.

A number of people made submissions to the joint committee that an ideal way to give small start-up units an opportunity would be for the IDA to trade land with the local authorities or the county enterprise boards from the landbank it was not successful in marketing. In this way, small indigenous industries would be given an opportunity to take off. Perhaps this is the way forward.

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