The State is likely to spend up to €300 million buying land for the last 10-km stretch of ring road in south Dublin which will complete the M50 motorway, it has emerged, writes Arthur Beesley, Political Reporter
The project to link Ballinteer with the Shankill-Bray by-pass was suspended by the Supreme Court yesterday, pending a High Court determination on whether Carrickmines Castle should be designated a national monument.
It is believed that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has already acquired land worth €200 million for the road, which is not expected to be finished until 2005 at the earliest.
After the Dublin Port Tunnel, which is expected to cost €100 million a kilometre, the road is believed likely to be the second most expensive in the State.
Land-owners served with compulsory purchase orders in the past two years include Leopardstown racecourse, an order of priests and the family of former Fianna Fáil councillor, the late Jim Murphy. Together, these three groups received almost €60 million for their property.
The racecourse is understood to have been paid in the region of €26 million for a 25-acre plot of land, known as Ballyogan car park. The Legionaries of Christ order is understood to have been paid €16.5 million for a quantity of land.
Representatives of the late Thomas Murphy, father of Jim Murphy, are understood to have received €16 million for about 11 acres.
It is thought that the initial valuations on the land were set by Dublin City Council, although the final rates reflected values set by independent experts in some cases and arbitrators in others.
These reflect the high market value of property in south Dublin, which is among the most expensive in the State. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown council acquired the land before handing it over to National Roads Authority, which has responsibility for roads in the National Development Plan.
In a submission last week to the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts, the authority said certain lands acquired for the roads plan had been purchased at a rate of more than €1 million an acre.
The Irish Times has established, however, that one landowner received in excess of €2 million for one acre of land. The owner of a 1.29-acre property, which included a house, received €2.8 million.
The authority cited the rising cost of land among other factors contributing to a doubling in the cost of construction since 1999.
While it initially expected to spend €500 million on land throughout the State, it now projects to have spent €1 billion by the time the road programme is complete after 2006.
Landowners in the area of the road route include the property group Dunloe Ewart, which is thought to have received €9 million for some 35 acres of land. Others include the controversial group Jackson Way, which has sought €47 million for a 20-acre plot and whose compulsory purchase order is now subject to arbitration.