'Cork City Council has been very short-changed by this': Councillor blasts decision to sell land to IDA for €1.25m 

A CORK city councillor has criticised a decision to sell council-owned land on the northside of the city to the IDA for €1.25m claiming that the selling price is well below the value. At Monday night’s full council meeting councillors agreed to sell a section of land at Hollyhill, Knocknacullen West measuring around 3.81 hectares to the IDA’s strategic property division.

The vote to dispose of the land was passed by the majority of councillors, with two votes against from An Rabharta Glas councillor Lorna Bogue and Solidarity councillor Fiona Ryan and one abstention from Workers’ Party councillor Ted Tynan.

Speaking at the meeting, Ms Bogue, who has a master’s degree in economics, said she was concerned about the price which she felt was “not in line with market value”.

“You can get 7.8 acres in Naas [Co Kildare] for €1.9m. You can get 4.2 acres in Ballycoolin for €1.9m,” Ms Bogue said.

Speaking to The Echo following the decision, Ms Bogue said she feels “angry and annoyed” with councillors who voted through the disposal.

“I think this is the bargain of the century for the IDA but Cork City Council has been very short-changed by this. All we had to do was go back to the IDA and say this is not market value, councillors are not going to vote for this, can you come back with another offer and we would have received another offer,” she said.

At the meeting on Monday, the council’s director of corporate affairs and international relations, Paul Moynihan said he was satisfied with the valuation of the land: “This disposal is subject to a Department of Public Expenditure and Reform protocol that governs the disposal of land assets from one State authority to the other and so the lands have been professionally valued through the State’s Valuation Office and I’m very satisfied that the consideration represents the best value for money attainable in this case.”

A spokesperson for the IDA said IDA Ireland “would not comment on a valuation provided by a vendor”.

The spokesperson also declined to comment on the specific plans for the land but said: “This purchase allows IDA to acquire a site which aligns with organisational objectives of delivering high-quality property solutions for future industrial development need.”