Michael Creed
Ceist:150 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Education and Science if he has reviewed the asking price of an old school (details supplied) in County Cork which is being disposed of to a community organisation. [14728/98]
Written Answers. - Sale of Cork School.
Some time ago, sanction was conveyed to County Cork VEC for the disposal of the property in question at the established market value of £17,500. The legal advice available to my Department is that under the present statutory framework, a VEC is not empowered to dispose of a property for a consideration of less than the established market value. Accordingly, the question of disposing of this property by County Cork VEC at a price less than the established market value does not arise. It is a normal requirement is such cases that a reserve price is set in accordance with the established market value and the VEC is then instructed to sell the property by way of tender or public auction, whichever is likely to secure the highest price. In this particular case, having regard to the merits of the proposal put forward by the VEC, this requirement was not applied and sanction was given for the disposal of the property to the housing charity at the established market value as an exceptional matter.