I thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this matter which is of considerable interest to the local community. Coláiste Íosagáin is for sale. This major landmark on the Cork-Killarney road, midway between Ballyvourney and Ballymakeera, was familiar to many people throughout Munster and further afield as an educational establishment up to its closure in 1989. Since then, regrettably, it has remained vacant and is now being offered for sale. I am anxious, as is the local community, that the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands will sanction a request received from Údarás na Gaeltachta to allow it buy the property and proceed with its development with maximum benefit for the local community. If that request is not sanctioned further dereliction of the property is inevitable and soon the magnificent former college may deteriorate beyond repair. That would be a national loss as the college has links with the development of our education system going back almost to the foundation of the State.
The college, together with 40 acres of land, is being offered for sale. These lands adjoin the industrial estate owned by Údarás na Gaeltachta and would provide for a perfectly logical expansion by Údarás na Gaeltachta as its present lands leave no room for further industrial expansion. There is considerable local community interest in the future of Coláiste Íosagáin and support for the proposal by Údarás na Gaeltachta to purchase the college. Consultants have been engaged in recent times at the behest of Údarás na Gaeltachta and the local community to determine the development potential of the property and there is widespread optimism about its commercial viability.
I am not privy to the deliberations of the consultants, but on numerous occasions in the past I visited this issue with regard to the enormous potential of the site. I still believe the premises could be used as an educational facility, most likely with considerable potential for post-graduate third level courses. Situated as it is in the heart of the Muskerry Gaeltacht, cultural tourism and the revival of interest in the Irish language also offer interesting options for its future use. The asking price for the site is approximately £500,000. For a site with such enormous potential, that is a pittance. I ask the Minister to give favourable consideration to the request by Údarás na Gaeltachta.
