asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the guidelines which have been issued by his Department to the IDA regarding the sale of land or premises by the Authority; if the IDA has been requested to seek tenders when offering land or premises for sale; the total acreage of land and number of premises sold by the IDA since January 1988; the amount raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - IDA Property Sale.
5.
As part of the general policy to restore order to the public finances the Government decided last year that the IDA could dispose of a portion of their large portfolio of land and buildings without unduly affecting the promotion of industrial development.
As the Authority are responsible for the day-to-day implementation of industrial policy it was felt that they would be in the best position to determine the most appropriate sites for disposal on a national basis and to decide whether such disposals should be carried out by way of public auction, public tender or private treaty in individual cases. I understand that the majority of sales to date have, in fact, been by way of auction or public tender. Since January of this year the authority have disposed of 27 sites — 816 acres — and two factories which have raised a total of £2.4 million. Additional revenues will be raised between now and year end on the basis of further property sales which have not yet been finalised.
May I ask the Minister if any monitoring is done of IDA sales and if he has had any indication that sales of land are being made at inordinately low prices? In his reply the Minister said that the sale of land is not unduly affecting industrial development. Is the Minister aware that land in the East Wall area which was desired by a number of people, including the short take-off airport, was sold by the IDA at what is considered to be the very cheap price of £5,000 an acre?
The Deputy is raising a specific matter. The question is in general terms.
It is a specific area of land owned by the public——
The question is in general terms. If the Deputy wants to raise a particular aspect of the matter he should put down a separate question.
The question is about the sale of land——
The Deputy has referred to a particular sale of land.
Has it been sold by public tender, private tender or whatever?
Please, Deputy.
As I have already stated, the Authority are responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of industrial policy and they are in the best position to determine the most appropriate sites for disposal and how they dispose of them. As I have already said, the majority of sales to date have been by way of auction or public tender and I have no doubt that is what happened in this specific case.
Does the Minister do any monitoring of the sales?
The Authority are set a target by the Government at budget time, as was the case last year, to raise a certain amount of money for a contribution. Because they had 2,000,000 sq. ft. of factory space and a huge land bank they were instructed by the Government to dispose of a certain amount of that property to realise a certain figure. However, the IDA make their own decisions as to what to sell, how they sell it and what price they get for it. Those functions are part of the day-to-day operations of the IDA.
The Minister stated that the sale of 816 acres raised £2.4 million. As the Minister is well aware, when most of these land banks were purchased by the IDA land was at a premium price. May I ask the Minister the difference between the figure realised by the sale of this land and the actual purchase price paid by the IDA when it was originally bought?
I am sure Deputy Cullen realises that that is a separate question.
The Minister is volunteering information——
Please, Deputy.
I am volunteering information but I do not have that information.
I have already ruled that we ought not to bring in extraneous matter.
Can the Minister say whether the sale of land by the IDA in any area indicates a lack of priority for that area in view of the fact that the IDA are selling land in that area? In this regard I would specifically mention Carrick-on-Suir which we are all extremely——
The Deputy is again adverting to a particular matter.
The sale of a portion of IDA land in any particular area is no indication of any lack of priority in the area. If the IDA think they have surplus land they are entitled to move and dispose of a portion of it.
With regard to Carrick-on-Suir, which I know is a black spot, I can assure the Deputy and the House that this area is getting priority attention from the IDA. They visited a site there recently and are pretty hopeful of getting a unit of manufacturing industry in there in the foreseeable future.
Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle.
(Limerick East): For arranging a supplementary giving the Deputy a bit of good news.
Order.
Would the Minister have a look at the sale of the land in question in the East Wall area, to check if we got value for money with regard to the IDA?
If the Deputy sends me the details, I shall have a look into the matter and give him all the information available to me on it.