Vol. 455 No. 8
367 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if he has satisfied himself that the State received a fair price for lands at Deerpark, Glending, County Wicklow, which was acquired by Roadstone Limited in 1992 in view of the value of the gravel deposits therein; the sale price; and the estimated tonnage of gravel on the site. [13198/95]
368 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if a full survey of the gravel deposits at Glending, County Wicklow was carried out prior to its sale to Roadstone Limited in 1992; and the value put on these deposits by the surveyors. [13199/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 367 and 368 together. Detailed assessments were carried out by both the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) and independent consultants on behalf of the then Department of Energy, which at that time had statutory responsibility of forestry matters, prior to sale of the lands in question and in the context of enabling the Department evaluate the fair market value of the property. These assessments were a most important element of the Department's negotiating stance on the sale to Roadstone. Since the outcome of the assessments and the value as ascribed to the sand and gravel deposits are related to the negotiation and agreement of the eventual sale price, I do not feel it would be appropriate for me to disclose details. The sale price itself is a matter of private contract which I am not at liberty to disclose. I can however assure the Deputy that, taking the aforementioned assessments into account, the Minister of the time was satisfied, as am I, that the State received a fair price for the sale of this property to Roadstone.
