Fianna Fail TD for Wicklow Mr Dick Roche has welcomed an undertaking by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, that his Department would co-operate with any inquiry into the sale of State land at Glen Ding Woods.

Mr Roche made a submission on the controversial sale of the land in Blessington to the Dail Public Accounts Committee last week and is awaiting confirmation as to whether it will conduct a full investigation into the matter.

The Department of Energy sold the 147-acre site to Roadstone Dublin Ltd in 1992 by private tender for £1.25 million. However, it has since emerged that Hudson Bros, another quarrying company based in the area, had expressed an interest in the site, but had not been given an opportunity to make a bid.

Mr Bobby Molloy, minister for energy when the land was sold, told The Irish Times he had not been aware of the interest shown by Hudson Bros at that time. During a Dail debate on Wednesday, Dr Woods said both he and his Department would be "happy to co-operate with any examination that the House may wish to carry out to facilitate the Committee on Public Accounts in any such examination".

Mr Roche welcomed the undertaking and said it was not in the public interest to allow doubts about the circumstances surrounding the sale to linger. "The key aspect which I wish to see examined is the decision to sell a very valuable asset without any form of public competition, when it is clear that there were a number of parties willing to put forward an offer had they known that the land was on the market," he said.

"A second important aspect of the issue which must be examined is the professional advice that was the basis on the decision as to the manner in which the sale was conducted."