Ken FoxeThe government paid nearly €1.4 million for a 40-hectare tract of land to expand the Glen of the Downs nature reserve. Internal records detail how one valuation said the land was worth just €800,000 because it was used for commercial forestry. Another estate agent reckoned the site could fetch €1.2 million while one said it could be worth up to €1.5 million. An internal memo said the higher values reflected the possibility that the land could be redeveloped as a golf course. The submission said the nature reserve would be expanded and that the land would be transitioned back to native woodland.

Source: The Herald January 05, 2026 19:22 UTC