No formal resolution has been adopted by Monaghan County Council to raise a loan to extend the existing council headquarters at the Glen, Monaghan and, consequently, no formal request has been made for sanction to do so. However, in October 2003 the council advised my Department that it intended to seek sanction to raise a loan of €14 million for the proposed development. In response and in subsequent discussions, the council has been informed that the overall allocation for local authority borrowing for office accommodation in 2004 is already committed to existing projects. In the circumstances, the council was requested not to enter into any financial commitments on the proposed development.
Subject to the proposed borrowing being formally adopted by the council and meeting certain financial and other criteria, any application made will be considered within the framework of the overall borrowing limit for the local authority sector in 2005.