‘Government’s plan on landbank a sop’ - Finucane

THE Government’s aspirations for the Tarbert-Ballylongford landbank in lieu of the LNG project might prove stillborn given the legal complications arising from the gas company’s purchasing of the land from Shannon Properties.

That’s the opinion of auctioneer Cllr Jim Finucane, a staunch supporter of the gas plant plans, for the jobs it represents for the ailing economy of the rural region.

He described the Government’s mooted task force for the landbank to explore renewable alternatives to the LNG as ‘nothing more than a sop’ to local supporters. Cllr Finucane was not referring to the need for a wider, regional task force as recommended by Kerry Group founder Denis Brosnan speaking to The Kerryman last week.

The Tarbert native councillor’s comments were in direct response to the Government’s aspirations to establish a task force with a narrower remit focused solely on the landbank. If established, the legal basis of its work would be precarious at best given what Cllr Finucane said was the advanced stage of the acquisition process – on land that is now privately, and not publicly, held.

“This task force was mentioned to me at a Zoom meeting with Leo Varadkar. I dismissed it out of hand and I told them it would rub salt into the wounds of locals who felt betrayed by the programme for government,” Cllr Finucane said.

“The site is being purchased by New Fortress Energy. It’s not in public ownership and, as far as I can see, it is so far advanced that New Fortress Energy will own the land outright. So what, then, is the task force going to consider given the land itself will be in the ownership of a company waiting now until September to make a fresh planning application?”

Cllr Finucane said the last thing people along the landbank want is yet another set of vaguely outlined objectives:

“This thing has gone on for 14 or 15 years now, and the last thing people want is another task force. It’s nothing more than a sop to local members, and I’ve dismissed it out of hand. What it needs now is to see what the State will do to facilitate the development, rather than looking at some task force with a broad remit, which is a complete sop to people who fought for the LNG project.”

He said his understanding of the option-to-purchase phase was that New Fortress Energy has reached a ‘binding agreement’ with Shannon Properties, the land holding company that now privately owns the formerly public land-bank after it was transferred following the dismantling of Shannon Development during the recession.

If finally acquired, the State could find itself without remit to focus a task force on the landbank. “The company would say that this is a private property.”

Meanwhile, proceeds of any sale will now likely go directly into the Shannon Airport zone via Shannon Properties.

Cllr Finucane said that at the time he fought hard to see the Shannon Development-owned assets in Kerry kept in public ownership. “I fought a battle at the County Council when Shannon Development was being wound down, arguing that , as the site was bought by the IDA with taxpayers’ money and handed to Shannon Development to develop, that it should have been maintained as publicly held land and given to Kerry County Council.

“Instead it was all given to Shannon Properties on the basis of funding development at Shannon Airport. The State would not realise anything from the sale of the land.” He said the LNG project represents a potential catalyst for the economic development of the entire landbank.

Cllr Jim Finucane