The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council last night quashed plans of the Christian Brother to sell lands at one of its schools to help fund the State's child abuse redress scheme.
The lands, 1.4 acres, worth an estimated €9 million with planning permission, are part of the grounds of Monkstown Christian Brothers' College, which falls within the council's boundaries.Until 1958 the lands had belonged to the then Dún Laoghaire Corporation, but were handed over to the order with the restriction that they be used for educational purposes only.
The Brothers applied to the council to lift the "restrictive covenant" giving them permission to sell the lands for residential development. As part of the deal the council would be entitled to a share of one-third of the profits, a likely €1 million, councillors said.
The council's planning and other relevant departments approved lifting the restrictive convenant, but councillors last night voted to "postpone indefinitely" the order's plans.
Councillors said they had been lobbied by parents and the school's lay principal, Mr Pat Keating, not to approve the disposal of the lands at the school.
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